Mr. David Delaney:

International protection officers and panel members who undertake the interviews undergo UNHCR training when they arrive in the International Protection Office. They are not allowed to go near an interview room or interview an asylum seeker without that training. They also get on-the-job training, which includes how to handle sensitive issues, whether LGBTQ issues or other cultural sensitivities. All of that is given a very high priority within the office. It is something we review on an ongoing basis and people get updated training to make sure the standards we have set at the start are maintained all the way through the process.

I appreciate there can be scenarios in which people might feel uncomfortable in an interview. However, one of the basic principles of dealing with an asylum claim is substantiating credibility. Sometimes, questions have to be asked to query the exact details of a claim. In those scenarios, an interviewer takes account of all the variables and tries to achieve a balance in respect of the need to obtain the evidence to underpin the credibility of a claim and be able to give people refugee status or subsidiary protection, if that is appropriate for them. That is the context in which we ask questions. In the vast majority of cases, the interviews are conducted in a very sensitive manner by panel members and civil servants. When people come to claim asylum, they are dealt with in the International Protection Office by way of what we call a substantive interview day, which is a three- to five-hour interview. Everyone in the office is trained in how to deal with people in a sensitive manner. We deal with a variety of vulnerabilities and are highly conscious of how we do so at all stages in the process.