18/02/2004 (Agence Europe) - The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is concerned at exemptions to the right of appeal against requests for asylum which Member States plan to grant in the proposed directive on procedures for examining requests for asylum. The spokesperson for the Brussels office of the HCR, Diederik Kramers, stresses that "the right to appeal is a fundamental principle, which is upheld in international law". The HCR appreciates the fact that the Irish Presidency has undertaken to grant no further exemptions, notably for people from safe third countries (yesterday's EUROPE, p.7), but is concerned that the draft directive "nonetheless mentions far too many exemptions to the general principle of appeal and its suspensive effect".