Seeking asylum in Guinea-Bissau

Article 2 of Law No. 6/2008 grants refugee status to anyone outside their country with a well-founded fear of persecution because of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion; to anyone forced to leave their country by external aggression, occupation, foreign domination or events seriously disturbing public order; and to anyone recognised as a refugee under the UNHCR mandate. The law entered into force 15 days after its publication on 27 May 2008.

Article 3 excludes anyone for whom there are serious reasons to believe they committed serious acts against the independence and sovereignty of Guinea-Bissau, a crime against peace, a war crime or a crime against humanity, a serious common-law crime abroad before admission, or acts contrary to the aims and principles of the United Nations and the African Union.

A claim is lodged with the CNRD through its Executive Secretariat or, at the borders, with the sectoral or regional delegations of the foreigners and borders service. Within 21 days the migration and border delegation records the applicant's personal data and the reasons for the claim and directs the person to the CNRD; within 21 days of that interview the regional delegation sends the written record to the CNRD Executive Secretary. The Executive Secretariat then sends the applicant a form to complete within 15 days.

Someone who entered or stays irregularly is not penalised if they report to the CNRD within six months and explain the reasons, and anyone in Guinea-Bissau who meets such a person should direct them to the Commission for registration. The law places claims inside the country or at its land borders, ports, airports and territorial waters; it does not provide for claims at embassies abroad.

The claim is assigned to a CNRD inspector, who summons the applicant within eight days of receiving the completed form and holds a confidential interview; each interview is recorded in minutes for the Commission. All forms of evidence are accepted, under the principles of flexibility and the benefit of the doubt. A human-rights NGO may represent the applicant if this is requested in writing to the CNRD President seven days before the hearing.

The decision must be reasoned and is notified by the CNRD President. A positive decision is sent in writing to the supervising minister, who confirms it by order within 72 hours. The recognised refugee then receives a certificate of recognition and a refugee identity card confirming the status of permanent resident.

On the eighth day after registration the CNRD Executive Secretariat issues adult applicants a certificate of lodging, with minors listed on their parents' certificate. It serves as a temporary stay authorisation, is valid for six months and is renewed as often as needed until a final decision. Applicants remain free and may move and settle anywhere in the country, subject to security rules. Nobody who meets the refugee definition or asks for protection at the border may be expelled or returned to a territory where they would face the threats described in the law, except where there are serious grounds to regard them as a danger to security or after a final conviction for a particularly serious crime.

Recognised refugees are treated like nationals for access to work, health care, social security and education, including enrolment fees, and like resident nationals of foreign countries for liberal professions. They choose their place of residence and move freely, subject to security rules, and receive a travel document signed by the minister after an opinion from UNHCR. After seven years of regular and continuous stay, naturalisation is facilitated on a written request through the CNRD Executive Secretariat.

After a refusal, the applicant may appeal within 30 days of receiving the notification. The appeal is addressed to the Appeals Committee, chaired by a senior magistrate of the public prosecution service and assisted by two magistrates, through the CNRD Executive Secretariat, which forwards the file within 15 days; new documents can be added and the applicant may be represented by an individual or a human-rights NGO. The document confirming that an appeal was lodged also serves as a temporary stay authorisation.

A person whose claim is finally rejected and who must leave has up to 60 days, for humanitarian reasons, to seek admission to another country or to regularise their stay as a foreigner with the supervising ministry. After that period the general rules for foreigners apply.

The CNRD is the advisory and decision-making body for refugee matters and works under the ministry responsible for the foreigners and borders services. It has seven members from the ministries in charge of foreigners and borders, foreign affairs, justice, social solidarity, public health and national education, with UNHCR as an observer that may consult all files, including confidential documents, at first instance and on appeal. In a mass arrival of people fleeing aggression, occupation or serious public disorder, the CNRD coordinates registration and assistance and refugees may be recognised prima facie as a group.