Having personally experienced the grueling journey from being an activist with life-threatening persecution to reaching the supposed safety of asylum in a foreign nation, I can attest to the sheer torment human rights defenders undergo. The trials endured in our countries of origin and leaving behind our beloved ones, coupled with the further hardships faced throughout our perilous journey fleeing death, have left us exhausted, physically withered, and psychologically damaged. 

Sadly, our struggles do not end on reaching our destinations; we are met with protracted asylum procedures, alien environments, racism, inequity, and poor living conditions which further exacerbate our predicament. This is a testament to the countless human rights defenders that have had to weather this storm, and it's far from the safe haven we yearn for. [https://asylumseekerdefenders.org/

Similar to the 18th and 19th century mental and disabled people’s asylums {https://allthatsinteresting.com/insane-asylums where patients were kept in the most horrendous conditions; Lack of hygiene, overcrowding and further mental abuse of patients, asylums packed with 3,700 people but built for 100 times fewer people, people in the current immigration asylums experience similar inhuman living conditions. Asylum seekers are reduced to living similar to animals, watching others play sex in compacted shared rooms. There is unhealthy coughing and spiting in rooms, contagious flu, women defecating in small buckets in shared rooms to avoid direct contact with toilets highly infested with urinary tract infections, rampant use of uncertified abortion pills and methods, lack of critical timely monitored HIV therapy, and frequent commotion at night causing insomnia. All these have been associated with psychological disorders, suicides, and suicide attempts, and in the so-called safe, civilized and developed countries where this is rampant, states have kept silent justifying the manipulation of asylum into colonial-similar servitude. Worldwide, often held in limbo (not knowing what fate awaits them), asylum seekers (male and female) are taking narcotic drugs like Cocaine, Marijuana, Spirits and Wines to kill-off the traumatizing inhuman complex conditions similar to prison conditions in which we live.

The exploitative asylum immigration structures masked as a country's "specific immigration and asylum laws" in these countries contradict Article 4 and Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and have been long due to be addressed. Nevertheless, numerous reputable information sources have expressed how Western countries are experiencing a continued decline in the rule of law, human rights, and democratic practices, and using asylum as a political tool to gain civic support, turning asylum seekers into victims of harsh politically influenced circumstances.

The purpose for this petition therefore, is to call for a statement from the UN High Commissioner for human rights on the dire situation of people in asylum and to demand the UN human rights legislature to enact a fast-track asylum procedural for human rights defenders who have survived brutal torture and imprisonment in their respective countries. Similar to how visas are classified in western countries, it is fitting that asylum be accorded the same classification to expedite the process and reduce the sufferings of these brave individuals.

Moreover, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), over 3.5 million people had asylum applications pending by the end of 2020. Can we fathom the dire conditions they are enduring while living in limbo? It's crucial, now more than ever, to adopt a human-centric approach and alleviate the sufferings of such individuals.

Join us in demanding a quick and efficient asylum process for human rights defenders in asylum who have endured brutal torture and unrelenting persecution. Sign this petition to signal your support for fast-tracking asylum procedures and advocating for a change in the classification of asylum.