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Prima Facie Group Refugee Recognition

BeninHumanitarian protection

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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Explore pathways in Benin Read the five questions ↓

What exactly is this: asylum, temporary protection, humanitarian admission, resettlement or another protection mechanism?

Under Law 2022-31 of 20 December 2022 on the status of refugees and stateless persons in Benin, the minister responsible for public security may, by order and after the National Commission for Refugees and Stateless Persons has given its opinion, immediately and collectively recognise prima facie refugee status for people fleeing persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a social group or political opinion, or fleeing aggression, foreign occupation, foreign domination, or events seriously disturbing public order, when they arrive en masse on Beninese territory.

See recorded sources
  • Law 2022-31, Article 24
    Dans les cas visés à l'article 23 de la présente loi, le ministre chargé de la sécurité publique reconnaît collectivement à ces personnes le statut de réfugié prima facie par arrêté dans l'immédiat après avis de la Commission nationale chargée des réfugiés et des apatrides.

Which population, circumstances or geographic group does the mechanism cover?

Prima facie recognition covers people arriving en masse on Beninese territory who are fleeing persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a social group or political opinion, or fleeing aggression, foreign occupation, foreign domination or events seriously disturbing public order. People belonging to armed groups or armed forces do not benefit from prima facie recognition; their family members do, provided they are not themselves involved in military activity.

See recorded sources
  • Law 2022-31, Article 26
    La reconnaissance des refugies sur base prima facie donne droit aux mêmes effets juridiques que la reconnaissance individuelle, en ce qui concerne les droits et devoirs des réfugiés, l'octroi du statut dérivé et le regroupement familial.
  • Law 2022-31, Article 25
    La décision de procéder à une reconnaissance prima facie n'exclut pas la mise en œuvre de la procédure de détermination individuelle du statut à l'égard de certains demandeurs d'asile sur la base notamment des informations recueillies par les autorités publiques.

Where can protection be requested, and is this a direct application, border/in-country request, referral or other process?

Recognition is collective and immediate: the minister responsible for public security recognises prima facie refugee status by order, after the National Commission for Refugees and Stateless Persons has given its opinion. This does not exclude the individual-determination procedure being applied afterwards to particular asylum-seekers. Members of armed groups or armed forces only gain access to asylum procedures once it has been verified that they have genuinely and permanently abandoned all military activity. The official source does not state where people arriving en masse must present themselves.

See recorded sources
  • Law 2022-31, Article 27
    Les personnes appartenant à des groupes armés ou forces armées ne bénéficient de la reconnaissance prima facie ni de la reconnaissance individuelle. Une personne appartenant à ces groupes n'a accès aux procédures d'asile que lorsqu'il a été établi après vérification qu'elle a abandonné véritablement et de manière permanente toute activité militaire.
  • Law 2022-31, Article 28
    Les personnes appartenant à des groupes armés et celles qui poursuivent des activités militaires sont identifiées, séparées des civils et sont internées dans un lieu sûr loin de la frontière. Les autorités publiques prennent les mesures nécessaires pour assurer qu'elles ne sont pas en état de poursuivre leur lutte armée ou de mettre en danger la population civile.

What happens after the request: registration, family handling, major support and rights where officially stated?

Family members of people covered by prima facie recognition (including the family members of former combatants who have been separated out for internment) themselves benefit from prima facie recognition, provided they are not themselves involved in military activity, and are not interned together with the combatants.

See recorded sources
  • Law 2022-31, Article 28
    Les membres des familles des personnes visées au premier alinéa du présent article bénéficient de la reconnaissance prima facie, pour autant qu'ils ne sont pas eux-mêmes impliqués dans les activités militaires.

Which competent authority, UN body or official assistance channel should the person use?

The National Commission for Refugees and Stateless Persons (Commission nationale chargée des réfugiés et des apatrides), placed under the ministry responsible for public security, is the competent body. In a mass influx of asylum seekers it coordinates operational management, and the minister responsible for public security recognises prima facie refugee status by order after the Commission has given its opinion. An asylum request can be made at border posts, with local elected officials in entry areas, or at the Commission's permanent secretariat. The public authorities cooperate with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which is allowed to access asylum seekers and refugees wherever they are in the national territory. The official source does not state fraud or scam warnings.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The official source does not state fraud or scam warnings.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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