By Julie Donnelly
Introduction
The experience of refugees in Northern Ireland is situated within a governance landscape unlike anywhere else in the UK. This series of short articles will examine how Northern Ireland’s distinctive position within the UK affects the reception and integration of refugees in the following four key areas to offer an examination of how devolved responsibilities intersect with international human rights obligations:
- The Northern Ireland Refugee Integration Strategy
- Social Security
- Education
- Housing
The articles in this series demonstrate that across these four key areas, a clear pattern emerges: despite some progress, Northern Ireland’s legal commitments to equality and human rights are not yet matched by the structures, resources or coordination required to effectively deliver them in practice. The research presented in this series aims to identify where reform is most urgently needed. In this series, we highlight Northern Ireland’s immense potential for positive progress and recommend where devolved powers can be used more effectively to ensure that refugees can build safe, stable and dignified lives.
In this first article of the series, I aim to raise awareness of the unique complexities which refugees face in Northern Ireland. Primarily, this article demonstrates that, despite the very real and practical mechanisms available to protect refugee rights, the current standard for such is less than ideal due to a combination of factors, namely the narrow-minded environment of the local unstable political landscape, which leads to a restrictive system that is sometimes unable to deliver effective services for refugees.
Firstly, I outline the complex history which has built the foundation for the political system in Northern Ireland. Next, I explain the key legal instruments which form the backbone of the legal system, and how these have shaped the environment which refugees must navigate. Then, I clarify how the UK refugee policy is applied in Northern Ireland, and finally, how the combination of underfunding and political instability undermine the possibility of consistent protections for refugees.
A Turning Point and Tunnel Vision
The refugee experience in Northern Ireland cannot be understood without first recognising the region’s unusually complex constitutional, political and social landscape, formed against a backdrop of sectarian violence. Unlike other parts of the UK, Northern Ireland is a post-conflict society whose institutions, public policies and administrative capacities continue to be shaped by the legacy of the Troubles.
In 1998, the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (B/GFA) was signed, bringing an end to the sectarian violence of ‘the Troubles’, an ethno-national conflict which had plagued Northern Ireland since the late 1960s. The B/GFA is a multi-party agreement which was signed by leaders of the most prominent political parties in Northern Ireland, as well as the British and Irish governments. Among other things, the Agreement introduced the principle of consent which allows for Northern Ireland to remain in the UK until a majority vote dictates otherwise, as well as North-South cooperation (between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland), and East-West relations (between the UK and Ireland). Most significantly, the Agreement established democratic institutions, based on power-sharing, which could foster a functioning peace between Irish Nationalists (mainly Catholics who wished to rejoin the Republic of Ireland) and Unionists (mainly Protestants who wished to remain in the UK).
Yet, the deep-rooted societal divisions over the decades had created segregation in politics, education, employment, housing, and in nearly every area one can think of. These divisions, while not as potent as they once were, still exist today and influence every aspect of Northern Irish society, consciously or otherwise. This context is key to understanding the position of refugees in a post-conflict society, and the barriers they face in accessing support in Northern Ireland. When a post-conflict society has tunnel vision for its own problems, anything else outside of the traditional tribal political context can become peripheral.
After the incorporation of the B/GFA into domestic law via the Northern Ireland Act 1998, the current devolved government structure was created. One of the pillars of the government system is the power-sharing element of both the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive Committee. The Assembly requires mandatory cross-community voting on major decisions, while the Executive is a power-sharing institution where ministerial positions are allocated by the D’Hondt method, a statutory requirement, which attempts to reduce political fragmentation. While considered a success by many proponents for the peace agreement, the model is dependent on mutual participation by parties which come from opposing sides of the political spectrum in Northern Ireland. This has created a significant weakness where, if the two sides cannot reach an agreement, or one of the Ministers resigns because of an important issue, the Executive can collapse or be suspended. This has happened five times since 1998:
- February-May 2000 (suspended by UK government)
- August and September 2001 (short term suspensions)
- 2002-2007 (long term suspension)
- 2017-2020 (long term collapse)
- 2022-2024 (long term collapse)
Overall, the Northern Ireland Executive has not been functioning as intended for roughly 40% of its existence. This makes long-term planning next to impossible, often leaving Northern Ireland without up-to-date legislation or a budget. In this regard, the work that the government has been able to carry out is rather impressive, if not stressful for its workers. When a politically volatile environment can destabilise the wellbeing of Northern Ireland’s domestic population, it underscores how profoundly it might impact the context into which refugees are placed. Specifically, the policy and administrative decisions that govern their rights and daily lives can shape, constrain or even jeopardise their experience.
Human Rights in Northern Ireland: Refugee Rights Protections?
Some of the key protections that are offered to refugees are enshrined in international and regional human rights instruments. In Northern Ireland, refugees have a variety of human rights protections to avail from due to the post-conflict nature of Northern Irish legislation. The B/GFA established that the protection of human rights had to be preserved in British and Northern Irish law in this new post-conflict society. The agreement prioritised the inclusion of human rights from the European Convention on Human Rights. The Human Rights Act 1998 solidified this by enshrining ECHR rights into domestic law, which practically offered public access to the European courts for legal remedies.
Moreover, as part of the UK, the Northern Ireland institutions are by default beholden to the agreements which ratified by the UK, including the protections laid out in several international human rights instruments. Under the ECHR, Northern Ireland must uphold core civil and political rights – most importantly, protection from inhuman or degrading treatment (Article 3) and respect for private and family life (Article 8). The 1951 Refugee Convention requires state actors, including Northern Ireland to ensure non-refoulement, fair asylum procedure and access to basic rights for recognised refugees. The European Social Charter (1961) adds socio-economic guarantees, including housing, health and social protection standards. Through the ICCPR (1966) and ICESCR (1976), Northern Ireland is bound to protect civil liberties and progressively fulfil rights to education, health, work and an adequate standard of living. To cover all grounds, CEDAW (1979) specifically aims to eliminate gender-based discrimination, including refugee and asylum-seeking women who face gender-specific vulnerabilities. Finally, the UNCRC (1991) requires Northern Ireland to treat the best interests of the child as a primary consideration, ensuring protection, education and welfare for all children, including those in the asylum system. Together, these instruments create a comprehensive-rights based framework that institutions must respect, even post-Brexit, in Northern Ireland.
Uniquely, in Northern Ireland, the presence of international human rights obligations played an unexpected role in the aftermath of Brexit. The primary issue stemmed from concern over the possibility of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Windsor Framework (2023) was introduced to resolve the social, economic and political difficulties generated by the post-Brexit arrangements. Under the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland remains within the UK’s customs territory while applying EU customs rules and standards. In addition to provisions on trade, the Windsor Framework contains important rights protections, which are significant for all in the region, including refugees and asylum seekers. It is important to note that the unique position of Northern Ireland further necessitates that human rights remain at the centre of any legal understandings because of its complex history of the suppression of civil rights. Specifically, Article 2 of the Windsor Framework includes the “no diminution of rights” clause, which ensures that the UK government cannot diminish or EU standards of equality and anti-discrimination, in line with the GFA and its relation to the ECHR. However, the recent UK Supreme Court Dillon judgment has potentially reduced the promise of Article 2 of the Framework. As Murray notes, “[t]he Court’s narrow approach therefore has the purpose of thwarting resilience on Article 2 in a broad swathe of cases.”
Overall, the Windsor Framework’s Article 2 non-diminution guarantee means that Northern Ireland now operates under a uniquely strong rights architecture in which EU-derived equality protections may continue to constrain UK migration law and policy. Practically, this may provide refugees and asylum seekers in Northern Ireland a level of legal protection that is often more robust than anywhere else in the UK. However, as the rest of this series of articles will show, strong rights on paper do not remove the real-world challenges that refugees face.
The Home (Office) is where the refugee policy is: asylum accommodation and territorial boundaries
With an understanding of some of the unique structures and dynamics at play in Northern Ireland, and the extensive rights protections owed to refugees in the Northern Irish context, the question arises: how does a refugee navigate and establish a sense of belonging within this context? One of the most important aspects of belonging is, of course, the home. The issue of housing clearly illustrates how the central UK government dictates and controls much of what happens in the asylum process, i.e. the period of time before refugee status is obtained. The overarching policy framework sits with the Home Office (HO) which operates a “no-choice” policy so only it can decide where asylum seekers are dispersed in the housing system, and expects all local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales to participate so that distribution is proportionate to the population size. when it comes to accommodation, the situation in Northern Ireland differs from the rest of the UK, in the following ways:
- Northern Ireland has a unique local-only model, where only people who arrive and claim asylum in Northern Ireland can be accommodated. This arrangement stems from the Common Travel Area (CTA), where asylum seekers cannot legally cross the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland without express written permission. In effect, the CTA has created a controlled internal border for asylum seekers in Northern Ireland.
- Northern Ireland does not currently receive “dispersed” asylum seekers from other regions in the UK as it is not a part of the asylum dispersal system. However, they can be moved from Northern Ireland to another region if there is a lack of available accommodation.
- Accommodation is not taken from the local social housing market but rather selected from the private rented sector. This has been subject to criticism: a National Audit Office report (2025) noted that Northern Ireland has some of the highest profit margins for asylum housing in the UK (average of 7%), prompting demands for independent investigations.
For refugees and asylum seekers, these arrangements mean that Northern Ireland offers a highly protected rights environment, but one shaped by structural constraints that differ from the rest of the UK. Since Northern Ireland operates a local-only asylum model, only people who claim asylum in Northern Ireland can be housed there, creating a tightly controlled system with no inward dispersal. The Home Office’s no-choice policy still applies, and people may be moved out of Northern Ireland if housing runs out. Reliance on the private rented sector, where high profit margins and oversight has been questioned, also raises concerns about quality and stability. In theory, refugees benefit from strong rights protections in Northern Ireland, but face a housing system shaped by limited capacity, market-based provision and structural isolation. These challenges are discussed in more detail in a future article in this series.
Devolution, Funding and Dead ends
Northern Ireland’s unique context and distinct devolved system may be both the greatest opportunity and the greatest obstacle to effective refugee integration. Ultimately, Westminster oversees the fiscal decisions for Northern Ireland, including the overall budget, funding, and taxation. The UK Government provides Northern Ireland with a block grant, calculated using the Barnett formula. This means that around 30% of Northern Ireland’s public expenditure is funded by this grant instead of local taxes, leaving autonomous financial control impossible. Additionally, Westminster currently provides up to 25% more funding per person in Northern Ireland than equivalent spending in England due to several social security needs. Despite this, as of 2026, Northern Ireland has a chronic fiscal spending deficit of around £20 billion per annum.
For the purpose of this series of articles, the four most relevant Northern Ireland Departments for refugees and the supports they can access are: the Department for Communities, Department for the Economy, the Department of Finance and the Department of Health. These departments are instrumental to the Refugee Integration Strategy – a policy framework developed by the Northern Ireland Executive to facilitate the long-term integration of refugees by coordinating access to social security, education and housing. This policy is critical when taking into consideration the role of public funds and refugees’ abilities to access them. Refugees have the same rights as citizens to these funds; however, they must also pay the cost of a underfunded civil service which has led to longer wait times for healthcare appointments, outdated systems and consistently operating in crisis-mode. While statistics exist on the overall block grant and the internal distributions, there is no published data assessing how effectively the departments use their allocations. For refugees, the challenge lies not in legal entitlement but effective delivery.
The Northern Ireland Civil Service, which administers these interconnected systems, operates within severe resource constraints that restrict its ability to meet demand across multiple sectors simultaneously. The articles that follow in the series highlight how failures in one area—such as delays in processing social security claims—may produce cascading effects in others, leading to increased risks of homelessness and decreased access to education. Refugees can be disproportionately affected by these systemic shortcomings as they enter the system with higher needs and lower baseline stability and rely on multiple public systems at once with no alternative. This reveals a persistent gap between the legal recognition of socioeconomic rights and their practical realisation, highlighting that Northern Ireland is not fully meeting its obligations to respect, protect, and fulfil the rights of refugees in practice.
As a result, non-governmental organisations and charities often attempt fill the gap left by the financial strain. For refugees, Extern operates across the island of Ireland and provides resettlement support and “floating” support for people at risk of homelessness, and Retreat Housing offers a community response to the urgent need for affordable and inclusive housing for refugees.
In this regard, it is important to recall that under international human rights law—particularly Article 9 and Article 11 of ICESCR, alongside the 1951 Refugee Convention and the Convention on the Rights of the Child – states are obligated not only to recognise rights such as access to social security, adequate housing, and education, but to ensure their effective implementation. However, in Northern Ireland meaningful protection of such rights is routinely undermined by administrative delays, insufficient funding, and limited institutional capacity.
Given the unique constitutional and fiscal position of Northern Ireland, what results is a disconnect between international legal obligations and UK policy on the one hand, and the reality on the ground, on the other. There is no one single source to address an outdated system with inaccurate information: no dedicated funding stream carved out for refugee-specific services, no centralised, up-to-date hub of information to support refugees, no coherent system to address refugee integration. Instead, a labyrinth of underfunded and disorganised systems trying to mitigate the damage of increasing pressure.
Conclusion: Potential for Progress
While Northern Ireland sits uniquely in the wider UK context, its post-conflict governance, devolved competencies and chronic resource pressures create a distinct landscape that shapes the refugee experience in a particular way. The articles in this series set out a detailed and critical exploration of how refugees experience life in Northern Ireland across four foundational areas of integration. While each piece focuses on a distinct policy domain—the refugee integration strategy, social security, education, and housing—they collectively point to a broader structural challenge: a gap between rights-based commitments and lived reality. What follows is not only an assessment of strengths and shortcomings in law, policy, and practice, but also a forward-looking analysis that identifies practical opportunities for reform within Northern Ireland’s devolved framework. Northern Ireland has the potential to move beyond a structure restricted by underfunding and miscommunication toward a more coherent and humane system of refugee integration: one that meaningfully upholds dignity, stability, and inclusion from the outset.
The next article will evaluate the 2025 “Refugee Integration Strategy”, highlighting its human‑rights‑based framing and its commitment to “Integration from Day One”, while identifying critical gaps in accountability, measurable targets and participatory governance. Following this, the third article in the series will assess access to social security, demonstrating how administrative delays, poor information systems and inconsistent decision‑making leave many refugees at risk of destitution during the transition from asylum support. The fourth article will examine the barriers refugee children face in accessing education, from long waiting lists for English language classes to inadequate teacher training, and the exclusion of older teenagers from further study. The fifth article will investigate housing and homelessness, revealing how structural shortages, rising rental costs, and the legacy of segregation create acute risks for refugees—risks exacerbated by limited data collection and the withdrawal of key legal protections. The final article will summarise the core themes from the series.
Together, the pieces form a fuller picture of the refugee experience in Northern Ireland, which is often overlooked in within the wider immigration conversation in the UK. What emerges is not a collection of isolated constraints, but a systemic pattern shaped by Northern Ireland’s political structures, administrative limitations and chronic under-investment. Each element of outdated information, inconsistent funding and political instability reinforce one another to produce a web of constraints that refugees must navigate, often with little visibility in national policy discussions.
Julie Donnelly is an LLM student at Ulster University School of Law and a member of the Migration Policy Clinic team at Ulster University Law Clinic.
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