Spain: Information on whether Spain "refoules" refugees to the last country travelled through or to country of nationality and on the treatment of Cuban asylum-seekers
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 November 1995 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ESP22018.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Spain: Information on whether Spain "refoules" refugees to the last country travelled through or to country of nationality and on the treatment of Cuban asylum-seekers, 1 November 1995, ESP22018.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac044e.html [accessed 31 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information on these specific subjects could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB. However the following information may be of interest.
In an article on the Spanish Law on asylum and refugees published in July 1992 in Tolley's Immigration and Nationality Law and Practice, Ella Rule wrote that under Law 5/1984, asylum seekers have the right to be admitted to Spain pending the determination of their cases (85). The author noted however, that according to the 1989 annual report by the Defender of the People, "Spanish frontier control do take upon themselves to refuse entry to people even when they ask for asylum or claim to be refugees." (ibid.). According to the author, "this has led to the intervention on the part of the Spanish delegation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)" (ibid.).
The International Journal of Refugee Law reported that Law 5/1984 was amended by Law 9/1994 in June 1994 (1994, 457). The new law states that "when the asylum claim is presented at the frontier, the Minister must decide within four days whether the claim is eligible for admission to normal procedure" (ibid.). Under the new law, "during the time the decision on eligibility for admission to the procedure is being taken, asylum seekers will not enter national territory, but will stay at the frontier in accomodation especially equipped for them" (ibid.). According to Country Reports 1994 which is available at your Regional Documentation Centre, the constitutionality of the new law has been challenged and its enforcement has been held up pending a court ruling (972).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1994. 1995. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
International Journal of Refugee Law [Oxford]. 1994. Vol. 6, No. 3. "New Spanish Law on Asylum."
Tolley's Immigration and Nationality Law and Practice [London]. July 1992. Vol. 6, No. 3. Ella Rule. "The Spanish Law on Asylum and Refugees."
Attachments
International Journal of Refugee Law [Oxford]. 1994. Vol. 6, No. 3. "New Spanish Law on Asylum," pp. 457-59.
_____. January 1992. Vol. 4, No. 1. Concepcíon Escobar Hernandez. "Asylum and Refugee Status in Spain," pp. 57-70.
Tolley's Immigration and Nationality Law and Practice [London]. July 1992. Vol. 6, No. 3. Ella Rule. "The Spanish Law on Asylum and Refugees," pp. 83-88.
Other Sources Consulted
On-line searches and oral sources.
