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Individual Asylum and Refugee Status

TogoHumanitarian protection

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

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Explore pathways in Togo Read the five questions ↓

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

This is individual asylum / refugee status determination under Togo's 2016 refugee law, aligned with the 1951 Geneva Convention definition: a refugee is any person with a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a social group or political opinion.

See recorded sources
  • Loi 2016-021, Article 3
    Est refugiee toute personne craignant avec raison d'etre persecutee du fait de sa race, de sa religion, de sa nationalite, de son appartenance a un certain groupe social ou de ses opinions politiques

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

This individual mechanism covers any person meeting the persecution-based refugee definition (or forced to flee habitual residence due to aggression, external occupation, foreign domination or serious public-order disturbance) who applies on their own individual case, as distinct from the collective prima-facie mechanism for mass influx.

See recorded sources
  • Loi 2016-021, Article 3
    Est refugiee toute personne craignant avec raison d'etre persecutee du fait de sa race, de sa religion, de sa nationalite, de son appartenance a un certain groupe social ou de ses opinions politiques

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

Protection is requested by an individual, direct application: the request is addressed by the principal applicant to the Commission Nationale pour les Réfugiés (CNR) but is filed with its permanent secretariat, the Coordination Nationale d'Assistance aux Réfugiés (CNAR); it may also be lodged at a Togolese border post, which forwards the file to CNAR within fifteen days. The applicant must present to CNAR within ninety days of entry.

See recorded sources
  • Loi 2016-021, Article 11
    La demande d'asile est adressee par le demandeur principal a la commission nationale pour les refugies (CNR) mais est deposee aupres de la coordination nationale d'assistance aux refugies (CNAR)
  • Loi 2016-021, Article 12
    Le demandeur dispose d'un delai de quatre-vingt-dix (90) jours francs a compter de la date de son entree pour se presenter aupres de la CNAR

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

After registration, the asylum-seeker certificate itself serves as a ninety-day temporary residence authorisation, renewable as many times as necessary until a final decision is issued, and the holder may move freely throughout Togolese territory while the claim is pending.

See recorded sources
  • Loi 2016-021, Article 15
    L'attestation de demande d'asile vaut autorisation de sejour temporaire au Togo, valable pour quatre-vingt-dix (90) jours, renouvelable autant de fois que necessaire jusqu'a ce qu'une decision definitive soit rendue.
  • Loi 2016-021, Article 15
    Le titulaire peut circuler librement sur tout le territoire national.

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

The competent national authority is the Commission Nationale pour les Réfugiés (CNR), which is empowered to guarantee refugees' legal and administrative protection, supported by CNAR as permanent secretariat and with UNHCR participating as an observer. The asylum procedure itself is stated to be free of charge and non-discriminatory.

See recorded sources
  • Loi 2016-021, Article 46
    La Commission Nationale pour les Refugies (CNR) est l'autorite nationale habilitee a garantir la protection juridique et administrative des refugies
  • Loi 2016-021, Article 10
    La procedure de demande d'asile est sans frais et non discriminatoire.

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

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