Decision-making processes and asylum claims in Europe: an empirical analysis of refugee characteristics and asylum application outcomes

Patricia C Rodda

doi:10.7206/dec.1733-0092.45

Abstract

Although refugees are offered the potential of asylum protection through the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, many states are attempting to curtail the number of asylum applications received each year. Several scholars have argued that even without such deterrence measures, some refugees are less likely to receive a positive asylum decision than others. Using country level data for 32 European states, this project examines the effects of various characteristics – including gender, age, and state of origin – on the likelihood of being granted asylum. This study is a first attempt at empirically testing the asylum literature’s anecdotal evidence of bias in the decision-making processes in determining the outcomes of asylum claims.

Highlights

Refugees are offered the potential of asylum protection through the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, many states are attempting to curtail the number of asylum applications received each year
The first model uses the intermediate decisions as the dependent variable, the second the percent of Geneva Convention or full asylum decisions, and the final model uses rejection decisions
This means that neither H1 nor H2 – the hypotheses arguing that being a female negatively impacts the rate of asylum protection and that advocacy to address this issue might have increased the likelihood of intermediate protection – are supported

Summary

Introduction

Refugees are offered the potential of asylum protection through the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, many states are attempting to curtail the number of asylum applications received each year. PROCESY DECYZYJNE W SPRAWIE WNIOSKÓW O AZYL W EUROPIE: CHARAKTERYSTYKA UCHODŹCY ORAZ ANALIZA EMPIRYCZNA WYNIKÓW PRZYZNAWANIA AZYLU. Streszczenie: Chociaż uchodźcy otrzymują ofertę ochrony azylowej na podstawie Konwencji dotyczącej statusu uchodźców z 1951 roku (Konwencja genewska), wiele państw stara się ograniczyć liczbę wniosków o azyl otrzymywanych każdego roku. Even the initial application submission process can vary depending on where, when, and how a refugee gains – or attempts to gain – access to the state in which he or she seeks asylum. For refugees seeking asylum in Europe, there is a certain level of consistency in how asylum applications, once submitted, are assessed and the ways in which decisions regarding protection are reached

Methods

Results

Conclusion