Interpreters working with asylum-seekers should be trained to be culturally sensitive, a conference workshop was told. Ms Hilda Becker, a solicitor who works with asylum-seekers, also said the standard of English of many interpreters could be worse than that of the clients.
Asylum-seekers and refugee support workers outlined other difficulties faced by asylum-seekers trying to prove that their claim for refugee status in Ireland was based on a well-founded fear of persecution. This often had to be done in the absence of documents.
All asylum-seekers must complete a detailed questionnaire and attend interviews with Department of Justice officials to make their case for refugee status. One of the recommendations from the workshop was that interpreters should be trained in cultural issues and be totally independent, according to its chair, Ms Suzanne Egan, a UCD law lecturer.
Earlier, Ms Josephine Olusola, a Nigerian asylum-seeker, was critical of the fact that the burden of proof in these interviews rested with the asylum-seeker. "You have to sit there and tell your story and convince this person. If the person wakes up on the wrong side of the bed that morning, then God help you."
Dr Colin Harvey, Amnesty International's adviser on refugees, said that the planned incorporation into domestic law of the European Convention on Human Rights would have an impact on the treatment of asylum-seekers and refugees in Ireland.