Category: refugees

Refugee report


Events in Syria may see many return

December 2024

To begin with more positive news, the collapse of the regime in Syria has led to a rush among exiles to return to the country. Refugee camps just outside Syria have been particularly active. The down side is that, as a result, European governments (including the UK) have paused processing active asylum claims from Syrians. The UNHCR has calculated that the largest number of refugees from Syria leaving for other countries under Bashar al-Assad were Turkey 3.1 million, Lebanon 774,000, Germany 717,000 and Jordan 628,000.

Statistics released this month indicate that the net migration totals for the UK have dropped to 728,000 for y/e June 2024, but of course most of these are legal. Of the asylum claimants, the backlog of cases was at 97,200 in September, mostly appeals, as the percentage of claims granted by the Home Office has fallen over the last 12 months from 75% to 52%. At the same time, it has been said that only 52% of asylum decisions have met the Home Office’s internal quality assurance requirements. Since the Home Office has imposed a 2 hour limit on interviews with claimants in an attempt to speed thing up, this is perhaps not surprising.

Small boat arrivals have dropped substantially in the last month, due mainly to adverse weather. No boats arrived between the 17th and 30th November, and only 8 since, which means 400 arrivals in the last 3 weeks. Greece, the main point of entry to Europe for many, has received 57,000 arrivals this year so far.

A change in the law means that newly accepted asylum seekers in the UK will now have 56 days to “move on” from asylum accommodation, twice the previous limit. The Home Office is also planning to house asylum seekers in disused care homes and student accommodation. The National Audit Office has concluded that accommodation like military bases and barges do not represent value for money.

Britain has signed a deal with Iraq to tackle people smuggling gangs, particularly in the Kurdistan region. Deals with other front line countries may follow. Meanwhile the UK and Germany have pledged to share intelligence and expertise against the gangs. Germany will make it a specific offence to facilitate smuggling migrants to the UK; many of the rubber dinghies used are stored in Germany.

Andrew Hemming

Pic: NY Times

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Refugee report


Europe still struggles to deal with refugees coming to its shores

November 2024

This month’s report is Eurocentric. Hopefully we can look at the wider aspects next time, as we become clearer about the new US President’s plans for widespread deportation (and also the Australian government’s battle with the courts).

The government’s proposals on the small boats crisis remain unclear at the moment. Apart from the Prime Minister’s curious assertion that the people smugglers constitute a threat to national security, things continue much as before. The total number of arrivals so far this year is over 32,000, 22% up on last year (but still below 2022). Worse overcrowding on the boats is partly responsible for 64 migrants dying at sea this year (5 times last year’s total). The government has agreed improved intelligence exchange with three Balkan countries and has pledged £150 million for the proposed Border Security Command.

Within the Home Office It is suggested that there is some doubt as to how the new Command will work. Lizzie Dearden in the i reports that the fear is that the more the authorities clamp down the more risky the methods used by migrants and that a new approach is the best solution. Nevertheless, the Home Office is recruiting a head for the proposed National Returns Progression Command, a body intended to take control of deporting unsuccessful applicants for asylum status.

There has been much concern about the use of the term “illegal arrival” as per the 2022 Nationality and Borders Act. Anyone guilty of “facilitation” (which includes steering a boat) is liable to up to life imprisonment, and cases have been reported of this happening. Since the Act came into force there have been 471 arrests, 233 of them for taking the tiller.

An aspect of the difficulties within the system is the lack of available legal aid. The Joint Council on the Welfare of Immigrants is urging a reform of the legal aid system, arguing that a functioning system would be much cheaper for the public purse than the present approach.

According to the French charity Utopia 56 there are still some 2,000 migrants on the Channel coast in France.

The Institute for Public Policy Research have observed the need to consider the demand side of the equation, to see why so many are fleeing their countries of origin: ”In order to have an effective response you need to go beyond enforcement.”

Elsewhere possible solutions to the problem are being considered. In Switzerland, since 2019 a new approach has been tried: the main aim is to target a total of 140 days for the complete processing of applications, while not cutting corners. The three critical issues are:

1. to have enough decision makers

2. fast streaming easier cases and moving more difficult ones to a different process and

3. ensuring access to lawyers.

Meanwhile in Spain a more friendly attitude to arrivals is being pursued, both for the economy and to allow family reunions. The Spanish government is opposed to what it terms “Melonisation”, the Italian plan to offload migrant processing to Albania.

Human Rights Watch have a piece noting that discerning the popular attitude towards refugees very much depends on the question asked. People are more sympathetic when it is phrased in terms of what would happen to deported asylum seekers rather than immigrant numbers arriving here.

Finally, a success story of an “illegal” migrant:

An immigration lawyer reviews Paddington in Peru: A very British bear – Free Movement

Andrew Hemming

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Refugee report – October


October 2024

The problem of boat crossings has largely dropped out of the news recently with the conflict in the Middle East soaking up media attention. The Conservative party’s leadership election is also a focus of interest particularly as the two remaining candidates have hard line opinions on immigration.

As the new government prepares to reveal its Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill (largely designed to replace the jettisoned Illegal Migration Act), it is worth looking at the current situation with the small boats. Under the IMA, all applications are deemed inadmissible. This has left us with a backlog of 33,000 claimants in limbo (mainly Afghans and Syrians). Before the IMA, 90% of claims had been accepted. This might not be the case in the future as the Home Secretary also wants enhanced return procedures.

The high levels of pending cases has been exacerbated by the lower levels of acceptance (down to about 60% of cases) with a resulting big increase in the number of appeals. In passing, the Independent notes that the oldest asylum claim at the Home Office was made nearly 17 years ago. Also, Switzerland has improved its processing, which used to take up to 4 years, but is now about 100 days, which may be a pointer for a way forward.

The charity Safe Passage sees signs of improvement  (e.g. now allowing children to join relatives who are not parents) but meanwhile the total number of arrivals this year is over 25,000 – slightly more than last year but fewer than 2022. The government is keen to align with European procedures on irregular arrivals, but within Europe itself cracks are showing. This week 17 EU countries pushed for more effective return procedures for rejected applicants under the new Asylum and Migration Pact. At present the actual return rate for those to be sent back is only around 30%. An amended return process is presently stuck in the European Parliament.

Following the Ukraine war, the percentage of the world’s refugees in Europe has increased to over 20%. New research this week suggests that the numbers of irregular migrants in Europe is not increasing substantially (still at around 1% of the population for most countries). The MIrreM project calculate that between 2.6 and 3.2 million irregular migrants are living in the 12 countries they researched, with 594,000 to 745,000 in the UK. Figures are not completely reliable owing to many arrivals staying under the radar.

While we concern ourselves with the relatively small number of refugees arriving on the south coast, it is worth looking at the worldwide situation. With war zones in the Middle East, Sudan and Myanmar, not to mention Ukraine, the number of displaced persons has mushroomed in the last year. Ten million Sudanese have been displaced, 2 million to another country, 4.5 million Yemenis are internally displaced, while in Gaza 90% of the population and in Lebanon 1 million out of 5 ½ have had to move under Israeli attack, in some cases many times. In the larger Palestine, plus Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, there are 58 recognised camps housing 1.5 million refugees (1 in 3 of all Palestinians, some dating back to 1948. The UN authorities in the area (UNRWA and UNIFIL) have pointed out that many of the displaced inhabitants may well choose to head for Europe, adding to the pressure on countries there.

In Myanmar, not only  those under threat from the military, but also many Rohingya have left the country, about 1.3 million, mostly to Bangladesh.

AH

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Refugee report


September 2024

We are pleased to post the current month’s refugee report produced by group member Andrew.

Following the General Election, a new approach to the issue of immigration and asylum seeking has been promised. Straight away the new government declared the deportation of irregular immigrants to Rwanda would no longer be pursued. It is not known whether Rwanda will return the £270 million received in advance. The new Home Secretary will review the position by 1st October following complaints from asylum seekers rounded up in preparation for flights to Rwanda. It was also intimated that changes would be made to the Illegal Migration Act of 2023. On which topic, the House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has published a report noting that the Home Office has been trying to remove some barriers to the processing system under the Act, observing that it was “lamentable that the Home Office put forward an Act of Parliament that it has simply not been able to implement.”

The Prime Minister has announced the creation of a new Border Security Command designed to “smash the gangs” in some undisclosed fashion. The Command would be funded by money previously earmarked for the Rwanda plan and would be responsible for coordinating the activities of Immigration Enforcement, MI5, the Border Force and the National Crime Agency in tackling the gangs.

Latest statistics reveal that 22,000 migrants have arrived by boat this year so far, about the same as last year. The biggest numbers are from Afghanistan (despite some increase in the number of legal arrivals from there), Iran, Vietnam, Turkiye and Syria.

224,000 claimants are still in the system despite efforts to clear the backlog. 40% of them are still awaiting an initial decision (the total number is high because of lower levels of initial acceptance leading to a large number of appeals.)

These pieces have tended to concentrate on the people arriving in the UK on boats, but it is important to remember that the refugee crisis is worldwide. This is reflected in the sudden increase in numbers of refugees from the new hotspot of Sudan (mostly in the neighbouring parts of Africa but also 60% of the most recent boat arrivals here). This piece gives more information: The Sudan War has Been Dubbed the ‘Forgotten Crisis’ by the Same Media who Have ‘Forgotten to Report on it’ – Here’s Why – Byline Times.

Similarly, this recent article indicates that most displaced people stay close to their home area and don’t necessarily want to come to Europe, a fact that is often forgotten in the debate: Refuge in the Levant and Eastern Mediterranean: Spaces of containment or places of choice? | Journal of Refugee Studies | Oxford Academic (oup.com).

Also on a non-UK topic, the German government have instituted temporary controls on its borders to prevent the arrival of irregular migrants (and extremists) from other EU countries. This is contrary to the Schengen agreement on free movement within the Union.

BLOG

Well attended vigil


Strong attendance at 121st vigil March 2026 Around 36 attended the 121st vigil and it was pleasing to welcome some passers-by who stopped to join in. Nearly half the cars sounded their horns. Here is a video of the vigil. The vigils started because of the horrific events on October 7th and the ensuing violence…

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Trade Minister a member of Friends of Israel


Peter Kyle declines to answer any questions March 2026 The Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP is the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and in the interview clip below, he is repeatedly asked why he has not declared his membership of the Labour Friends of Israel group. As the interviewer points out, his is…

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Palantir and the threats to our rights


Palantir’s increasing penetration a real concern March 2026 During a presentation on increasing authoritarianism at the Exeter conference, the firm Palantir was mentioned and its potential, and part in, the worrying trend of authoritarianism on both sides of the Atlantic. The first question is what does the firm do? This is normally a straightforward enough…

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Is a two state solution possible?


Talk at the Exeter conference March 2026 This was the title of one of the talks at the Exeter conference organised by the local Amnesty group. Answer: no. The talk was given by Abdullah al Anjari (pictured) who is a doctoral researcher in Palestine studies at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of…

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Vigil No 120 attracts strong support


The need for the vigil as strong as ever March 2026 Middle East violence continues. Over 1,000 dead as Lebanon attacked. Al Jazeera reports over 1,500 dead in Iran with many injured and 18 killed in Israel. The economic effects promise to be catastrophic with many economies under great strain if the hostilities continue. Killing…

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Rise in authoritarianism


Worrying increase in authoritarianism both sides of the Atlantic. Talk at the Exeter conference March 2026 Our rights are hard won. Britain still has elements of its feudal past. We think of ourselves as a democracy and great fuss is made of elections and polls but in many respects power is not with the majority…

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Gay rights in Malawi


Speaker at the Exeter conference on the problems of LGBTQ+ rights in Malawi March 2026 We were delighted to hear first hand of the continuing problems being experienced by LGBTQ+ people in Malawi. Eric Sambisa (pictured), who is currently at the Dundee Human Rights Centre, gave a talk at the Exeter conference on these problems.…

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Amnesty conference in Exeter


Well attended conference with a wide range of human rights issues discussed March 2026 The Exeter group of Amnesty puts together a conference every year and those attending this year were able to listen to a range of speakers on some of the current problems with human rights around the world. Each topic will need…

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Talk by ex-Iranian prisoner in Romsey


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Minutes and Newsletter


March minutes and Newsletter March 2026 We are pleased to attach this month’s minutes and Newsletter for the group thanks to group member Lesley for preparing them. We do not publish a Newsletter as such but they contain a lot of material on the death penalty around the world, the state of UK politics as…

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Middle East ‘forever’ wars


Iran, Lebanon join victims in the forever war. Vigils continue March 2026 The 119th vigil took place in Salisbury with over 25 in attendance, as the war intensified in the Middle East. We are in the third week of attacks on Iran as Israel and the US are bombing large areas of the country. Israel…

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Ex Iranian prisoner to tell his story


Anoosheh Ashoori will speak in Romsey March 2026 PAST EVENT – see later report of the event itself. The story of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been widely told and she has become a household name. A BBC film was made of her ordeal and she came to Salisbury to speak. Iran is in the news at…

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Threat to Jury Trials: MPs Debate New Court Bill


Threat to trial by jury March 2026 MPs voted to allow the Courts and Tribunals Bill to proceed to the next stage after significant debate during its second reading.  This was over proposals to replace juries in England and Wales with a single judge in cases where a convicted defendant would be jailed for up…

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How the New UK Bill Aims to Prevent Foreign Election Interference


New bill to tackle electoral reform March 2026 A functioning democratic system is vital for human rights.  It is about power and how it is wielded.  Increasingly, we have witnessed powerful outside interests – whether they be states or wealthy individuals – influencing the political debate.  Electoral reform is carried out infrequently partly because political…

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Refugee report


Refugee report for June. Rwanda policy abandoned

July 2024

Following the General Election, a new approach to the issue of immigration and asylum seeking has been promised. Straight away the new government declared the policy to deport irregular immigrants to Rwanda would no longer be pursued. It is not known whether Rwanda will return the £270 million received in advance. The new Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, will review the position by 1st October following complaints from asylum seekers rounded up in preparation for flights to Rwanda. It was also intimated that changes would be made to the Illegal Migration Act of 2023.

Also quickly out of the blocks was a group of some 300 refugee and human rights organisations who jointly wrote to the prime minister with a proposal for a new approach to the issue. And the IPPR have produced a plan for the first 100 days under the new government.

The letter writers set out nine key demands including:

  • Restoring the right to seek asylum by repealing the Illegal Migration and Nationality and Borders Acts
  • Safe routes including visa routes enabling families to reunite.
  • Housing applicants in communities rather than camps.
  • Restoring the right to work within six months of arrival.

The IPPR report notes the new government’s plan to create a Border Security Command, essentially to deal with the people smugglers, but the Institute is looking for a more holistic approach to all aspects of boat crossings and border control. They also point out that the UK will be hosting the European Political Community meeting this month where, among other issues, the new Europe-wide Asylum and Migration Management Regulation will be on the agenda (the aim is to spread the application requirements more fairly.

The Institute also urges the government to expedite removing the backlog of applications (the new backlog, not the one the previous government claimed to have eliminated), offering various suggestions as to ways of doing this.

As a matter of record, the number of claimants crossing the Channel this year is, at over 13,000, a record for the equivalent period. The backlog is now at 120,000, and the number of cases gone to appeal is 27,000.

Andrew Hemming

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Refugee report – May


Immigration, refugees and Rwanda still hot topics

May 2024

Immigration and asylum issues continue to exercise politicians and sections of the media and flights to Rwanda edge closer. We are grateful for this report produced by group member Andrew.

The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act finally became law on 25th April.  Since then, two pre-action letters have been sent (i.e. indicating intent to take the matter to court) from the FDA Union (on the grounds that civil servants cannot be expected to break international law) and Asylum Aid (claiming the legislation breaks with international law.)

It is reported that the Home Office is already rounding up refugees to send to Rwanda.  As a result many are going into missing or into hiding – or moving to Ireland.  It has also been said that countries under investigation as possible destinations include Armenia, Ivory Coast, Costa Rica and Botswana.  (Costa Rica has forcefully denied any such idea.)

A further aspect of the legislation is that Rwanda is a ‘monist’ country, meaning that it takes international law directly into domestic law.  This could mean that, if it is recognised that the Act breaks international law, it will, therefore, break Rwanda domestic law. 

The Oslo Peace Research Institute has surveyed the effect of warnings about migration rules as they affect third world countries.  Knowledge of the situation to be faced in Europe varies, but most communities are aware of messaging not to travel.  The effect on young adults has been minimal; indeed in some cases a better understanding of the bar on migrants has tended to raise expectations.

There has been a big increase this year in arrivals from Vietnam, higher even than among Afghans.  Vietnam is known as one of the worst countries for modern slavery, so trafficking appears to be rife.

The All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Poverty and Migration combined this month to produce a report on the effect of recent migration laws.  They considered that it was hard not to conclude that pushing claimants into poverty was a deliberate attempt at a deterrent.  They recommended several changes to the processing of immigrants.  The view that deterrence is not working is endorsed by this week’s report by some Calais-based charities, who note that heavy-handed action by French police to prevent the boats has encouraged the migrants to take to the boats more recklessly so as to avoid them, with dangerous consequences.  This police action is funded by the British Government.

The latest numbers of arrivals have been reduced by bad weather – an increase is expected.  1st May saw 711 arrive by boat.  The backlog of claimants awaiting processing was 83,000 in mid-April; the rate of processing has slowed in the last six months (the pre-2022 backlog, which the Prime Minister claimed had been cleared, still contains 2,300 people.)  The Refugee Council anticipate that, under the new laws, 94,000 are likely to be in permanent limbo by the end of the year.  Homelessness is also on the increase as asylum seekers are ejected from hotels after their claim is accepted.  Finally, the conditions in the Bibby Stockholm have been described as ‘prison-like’ with severe overcrowding.  An FOI request this week revealed that 1,871 children, who may be victims of modern slavery, have dropped off the register meant to support them up to the age of 18.

A depressing picture.

It was agreed the Group would monitor events for information on any proposed flights to Rwanda with a view to taking action, as previously, should Boscombe Down be the chosen airfield for departure.

The Salisbury group was established 50 years ago this year

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Refugee report


April 2024

This month, the report starts with the EU. The Freedom United charity note that so far this year more than 200 people have died trying to leave Libya, many shot by the Libyan Coast Guard. The EU continues to help fund the LCG, and the Institute of Migration say that 600,000 people are trapped in Libya seeking to get to Europe. Needless to say, there are many allegations of breaking international law in this crisis.

Also beyond the UK, the latest news from Rwanda is that, following the lack of progress in deportations, 70% of the properties allocated to receive deportees have now been sold to local buyers. On this topic, the Rwanda Bill returns next week for more ping pong – it could yet go for the Royal Assent within a few weeks. Judges are being given “special training” to ensure speedy delivery of those to be deported to Rwanda, according to the Daily Express. The airline Air Tanker is reported to be in discussions with the government about providing the transport, although they withdrew from previous similar discussions. RwandAir has already declined for fear of reputational damage.

The Prime Minister has claimed that 24,000 irregular migrants were deported last year. Full Fact have checked this and argue that only about 25% were enforced returns, the rest being voluntary. The number of arrivals in small boats this year stands at 4,644 at the end of March – bad weather has reduced the number in the last few days, but the figure is still higher than last year.

Charities and law firms have sent a letter to the Home Secretary seeking a Ukraine-style visa scheme for Palestinians who have family in the UK. The Home Office has also refused to decide on whether to drop the need for biometric data for reuniting family

arrivals from Gaza, although obtaining such data is virtually impossible in the crisis; the Upper Tribunal ruled against the Home Office in two test cases.

In their annual report, the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner note that the number of immigration advisers at the Home Office is growing, but not fast enough to keep up (and large numbers are leaving).

Finally, back to Europe, where the European Parliament has passed the Pact on Migration and Asylum today (Wednesday 10 April) against votes from the extreme right and extreme left. The 10 provisions of the pact cover issues like relocating from over-immigrated countries, financial allocation, fast-track routes and exchange of data.

A group of 22 NGOs has issued a statement arguing that “while the adoption … is likely to lead to a detrimental degradation of people’s access to protection in Europe, the new Union Resettlement Framework (URF) adopted alongside the Pact offers a glimmer of hope.

“The URF signals the EU’s political support for global resettlement efforts and has the potential to be a step towards advancing solidarity, capacity-building and responsibility sharing. It must now be operationalised effectively to ensure that more people reach safety and find long-term solutions,” the groups, which include the International Rescue Committee and Oxfam, said.

Andrew Hemming

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Refugee News


March 2024

As usual, we lead with Rwanda. The Lords have been inflicting a number of defeats on the government over the provisions of the Bill, and the “ping pong” between the two Houses will reach a climax next week, when we will know which, if any, amendments the government will accept. Further issues have arisen over the role of the civil service in the planned scheme, with the FDA union threatening legal action against the government in the event of a clash with the European Court.

The National Audit Office has calculated the cost of the first (total?) 300 deportees to Rwanda to be £541 million, at £1.8 million per person. Indeed, the cost to date is £20 million with no flights. Ian Dunt has calculated that the cost per asylum seeker generally in 2015/6 was £7062, whereas in 2022/3 it was £20921.

The latest wheeze, as revealed in The Times today (Wednesday) is simply to pay failed claimants £3000 for a  “voluntary return” – to Rwanda.

Figures released this month show that, as of 23 December 2023 the number of asylum seekers waiting for an initial decision was 128,000. The Government, of course, has claimed to have removed most of the legacy backlog, so most of these are new.

The sacking of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has resulted in the sudden release of the plethora of reports he wrote, which had not previously been published. They mostly concern the implementation of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 and are generally critical of the Home Office’s performance. It is unlikely that a replacement for Mr Neal will be found before the end of this parliament.

Refusal rates for asylum seekers went up in the last quarter of 2023, with a  third of applications refused. This is unusual, as most applications end up being accepted.

The rules on Ukrainian refugees’ visas changed last week (with 4 hours notice of implementation) – The Family Scheme was closed though the Homes for Ukraine scheme is extended, but will not be processed until 2025.

This week the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, criticised the Rwanda scheme along with certain French actions as acting above the law. She was concerned that two large European nations were giving a bad lead to the rest.

A small boat arrival, Ibrahima Bah, was sentenced this month to 9 ½ years in jail for “facilitating illegal entry, gross negligence and manslaughter “ following the deaths of fellow passengers. He is the first shipwreck survivor in the UK to face such charges and was not a people smuggler, but a refugee left in charge of the boat. The court concluded his age was 20, but he claimed to be 17.

Andrew Hemming

The Salisbury Group was established 50 years ago this year
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Rwanda report


Cross party committee on human rights criticizes the government’s Rwanda policy

February 2024

The Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill ends its House of Lord’s stage today (12 February) and returns to the Commons. The Bill has been roundly condemned by many human rights and other organisations and the committee said that it is ‘fundamentally incompatible with Britain’s human rights obligations’.

The Supreme Court has already ruled that Rwanda is not a safe country and the government’s attempt to pass a law simply saying it is is bit like passing a law saying water can run uphill. The Committee went on to say ‘the Bill disapplies laws that might prevent and individual’s removal to Rwanda including many of the key provisions of the Human Rights Act.

‘It might also impact on Northern Ireland, that it would both undermine the Windsor Framework and the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement’.

It also raises the point about UK’s reputation. We have they say, a reputation for respect for human rights of which ‘we should be proud’. 

Immigration, and most recently the Channel crossings, have generated a considerable degree of angst and hostile media coverage. This is not recent and goes back many years and started to emerge as a political force during the Blair years. In many respects it goes back further to various waves of immigrants such as the Huguenots from France, Flemings from the low countries and Jews fleeing Russia. All have been met with hostility of some degree. 

Recent immigrants are cast as not really refugees at all but economic migrants, are cheating the system, are living off benefits and so forth. Newspapers – and not just tabloids but the Daily Telegraph and the Independent – have carried hundreds of negative stories and helped keep the temperature high. The Sun even ran a story that swans were being stolen from the London parks and eaten by immigrants (invented). The raised media attention has increased public concern to which the politicians are obliged to reflect. 

Watch the Amnesty video

Anomaly

A curious anomaly is that people who’s offspring emigrate to live and work overseas (as ‘economic migrants’ no less) are spoken of in terms of pride. Emigrants good: immigrants bad. 

Another curiosity is that many of the politicians leading the hostility and proposing ever harsher measures including deportation to Rwanda, are themselves sons or daughters of immigrants. Priti Patel, Kwasi Kwarteng, Suella Braverman, Rishi Sunak, Danny Kruger and going back further, Michael Howard (Romania). 

The benefits of immigration to this country almost don’t get a look in. In November last year, the government’s own statistics show that around one in 5 of people working in the health service were not born in the UK. Indeed, the service would struggle to survive (even more than now) if these people were not working here. 

The entire debate is based on hysteria. Boat people have assumed a disproportionate sense of anger and fear even though they represent a small proportion of all immigrants to this country. The majority do go on to claim asylum. The hysteria and media mis- and disinformation has resulted in the plan to deport a few hundred to Rwanda, a policy which is performative rather than likely to be effective. 

Sources: Daily Mail, FullFact; Liberty; Hansard, Guardian (accessed 12 February 2024)

The Salisbury Amnesty group celebrates 50 years of existence this year

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Refugee report


Refugees News Summary 

February 2024

The egregious Rwanda Bill continues its course through the House of Lords. Their Lordships defeated the Government on one vote, to say that the treaty with Rwanda should not be ratified until the protections set out in it have been fully implemented. The Committee stage begins on Monday 12th February. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has commented that the Government’s plans are a “fake response” to migration issues.

The small boat numbers in January were higher than last year at 1335 – this was no doubt due to milder weather.

Ukraine

The visas offered to Ukrainian exiles following the invasion will run out next month, leaving large numbers to their own devices in seeking accommodation. On a related topic, a consultation has begun to reform the allocation of social housing; it is proposed that there be a “UK connection test”, only allowing allocations to those who have been lawfully resident here for 10 years. The increase in pressure on housing for migrants continues to ratchet up.

The question has been asked “Can criminals be denied refugee status?” The answer appears to be “Yes, but the crime has to be serious for this to apply.”

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration is looking into the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (sic), which decides claims of human trafficking.

Open Democracy are claiming that vulnerable people including torture victims are being housed on Bibby Stockholm in a potential breach of government guidelines.

Recommended reading: Hein de Haas: How Migration Really Works (Viking, 2024)

Recommended viewing: The Visual Politics of Refugeehood | Gresham College

By Nishat Awan

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