Vol. 406 No. 5
68 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Justice if he proposes to introduce legislation to implement the provisions of the 1951 United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees; and if he will make a statement on the current manner of implementation of this convention.
Ireland acceded to the 1951 United Nations (Geneva) Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and to the 1967 (New York) Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees on 29 November 1956 and 6 November 1968, respectively. Accordingly, Ireland is bound under international law to fulfil all the obligations and duties arising under and by virtue of the convention and protocol and legislation is not required to implement their provisions. The procedures used in implementing these provisions have been agreed between my Department and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and are as outlined by me in my reply of 14 June 1990 to a number of parliamentary questions regarding asylum seekers — column 2556 of the Official Report.
