International Protection Act 2026
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Designation of safe countries of origin | ||
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279. (1) The Minister may by order designate a country as a safe country of origin in accordance with the Asylum Procedures Regulation. | ||
(2) The designation of a country by order under subsection (1) may make exceptions for specific parts of the territory of the country or clearly identifiable categories of persons, or both. | ||
(3) The Minister may make an order under subsection (1) only if he or she is satisfied that, on the basis of the legal situation, the application of the law within a democratic system and the general political circumstances, it can be shown that there is no persecution and no real risk of serious harm. | ||
(4) In making an assessment under subsection (3), the Minister shall take account of, among other things, the extent to which protection is provided against persecution or serious harm by— | ||
(a) the relevant laws and regulations of the country and the manner in which they are applied, | ||
(b) observance of the rights and freedoms laid down in the European Convention on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Convention against Torture, in particular the rights from which derogation cannot be made under Article 15(2) of the European Convention on Human Rights, | ||
(c) the absence of expulsion, removal or extradition of the country’s own citizens to third countries where, among other things, there is a serious risk that they would be subjected to the death penalty, torture, persecution or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, or from which there is a serious risk of an expulsion, removal or extradition to another third country, and | ||
(d) provision for a system of effective remedies against violations of those rights and freedoms. | ||
(5) An assessment under subsection (3)— | ||
(a) shall be based on a range of relevant and available sources of information, including information from— | ||
(i) other Member States, | ||
(ii) the Asylum Agency, | ||
(iii) the European External Action Service, | ||
(iv) the High Commissioner, | ||
(v) the Council of Europe, and | ||
(vi) such other international organisations as the Minister considers appropriate, | ||
and | ||
(b) shall take into account, where available, the common analysis on the situation in the country and the guidance notes referred to in Article 11 of the European Union Agency for Asylum Regulation. | ||
(6) The Minister shall, in accordance with subsections (3) to (5) and on a regular basis, review the situation in a country, or part thereof, designated under subsection (1). | ||
(7) The Minister shall notify the European Commission of the making, amendment or revocation of an order under subsection (1). | ||
(8) In this section— | ||
“Convention against Torture” means the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment adopted by Resolution 39/46 of the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1984; | ||
“International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights” means the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted by Resolution 2200A (XXI) of the General Assembly of the United Nations on 16 December 1966. | ||
(9) In this section and section 280 , “country” means a country other than a Member State. |