Tag: UN

Fishers killed off Gaza coast


Israeli forces intensify killing of fishers off the coast of Gaza
Vigil No 135

Gaza is effectively surrounded and has no port or means of accessing neighbouring territory. It is an open air prison. With the tight restrictions of aid entering the territory and the annexation of nearly all the cultivable land by Israeli forces, one of the few means of livelihood is fishing. Gazans have been restricted to inshore fishing only, they cannot venture into the Mediterranean. Since October 2023, attacks on fishers have intensified with 238 killed since October 7th according to the Gaza Fishers Syndicate. Channel 5 News carried a report yesterday [we have been unable to locate a link]. It appears to add an element to the policy of starvation being meted onto the territory. [ADDITION 6 July]. We have been able to find a short film by the BBC which covers much the same ground.

A UN report said :

‘This thematic note highlights the systematic attacks on fishers and fishing infrastructure in Gaza, which have had devastating consequences on local livelihoods and the fishing industry, driving expanding protection concerns and risk of famine for families across Gaza.

‘According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Israeli military restrictions on fishing activities in Gaza significantly intensified after 7 October 2023, and fishers reported that they have been repeatedly attacked, onshore and at sea, by the Israeli military. In parallel, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) in Gaza has documented the destruction of key fishing infrastructure, including Gaza’s main port and several landing sites, along with extensive damage to landing sites and fishing vessels, rendering fishing operations off the coast of Gaza nearly impossible.

‘These attacks have resulted in the collapse of the fishing industry, which was once a main source of livelihoods and food for Gaza’s population. Combined with the destruction of agricultural land and other food production infrastructure, and severe restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial goods and supplies, the targeting of Gaza’s fishers and fishing infrastructure by the Israeli military has contributed directly to risk of famine and growing protection concerns for vulnerable persons, creating conditions which threaten the survival of Gaza’s population’ [UN, May 2025]

The vigils continue

Number 135 yesterday with over 30 present with occasional ‘drop-ins’ by passers by which is encouraging. Recognition was very high with probably over 100 taking some kind of notice of our presence. In view of the continuing violence in Lebanon and the killing which continues to take place in Gaza, it is still a necessary action. Over 73,000 have been killed according to AP and nearly 1,000 since the ‘ceasefire’.

Photo: Courtesy of Peter Gloyns

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Targeted policy to kill children


UN enquiry finds Israel conducts a policy of deliberately killing children

June 2026

MATERIAL ADDED, 29th June

A UN report published this month, has concluded that Israel has a policy of deliberately targeting children for attack in Gaza and now the West Bank. The scale of their actions is deeply shocking. The report, The Independent International Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory is extremely detailed and meticulous with copious notes and is the result of considerable research. It can be accessed here. The numbers quoted refer to paragraphs in the report. Many attempts were made to the Israeli government for information and/or access which were never responded to (3). A BBC report can be read here.

WARNING: much of the report is deeply shocking and upsetting.

Between the October 7th massacre and October last year, a total of 20,175 children have been killed and a further 44,143 injured. At least 5,000 of those were under 5 years old and a further 1,000 were under 1, that is babies (26). It is thought that 5,160 lie buried in the rubble. It may be recalled 36 children were killed by Hamas on October 7th following which there was a considerable outcry. Stories were fabricated about ‘babies being beheaded’ which are now realised to be fake. There has been no outcry about these Palestinian deaths.

The use of wide area munitions has had a disproportionate effect on children who are 7 times more likely to die following a bombing due to their young age (31).

Children shot

There are many casualties around the yellow line. It should be explained that this consists of yellow blocks dotted along the ‘line’ which are regularly moved as Israeli forces encroach on Gaza. They now control around 70% of the land. [Correction, 29th June: Israel controls over half of Gaza according to several sources, not 70% as we said here. It is their intention to increase it to 70%. We apologise for the error]. Children wandering into this area are shot and killed, over 100 this way. Some have been collecting firewood. Claims that the children are a threat in some way are unsupported and in any event are shot from a distance (38).

“Children brought into the emergency department were seeing around them the chaos of mass casualty, with people screaming, limbs blown off, blood… these children were sitting in a corner, staring blankly, not talking and observing all that, without any adults helping them to process or offer any sense of security. Mental health of children has been completely jeopardized.” – A doctor who visited Gaza on [a] medical mission.

WARNING

The report notes that as of April 2025, a total of 846 children had amputations without anaesthetic sometimes with makeshift equipment (44). Many do not survive subsequent infestations by maggots because of the dreadful conditions.

“I was not able to finish any operation because, every time child patients were taken back to the operating room, their injuries would be covered in maggots and sepsis under the dressings – these child patients had no immune system due to malnutrition. Children just did not recover.” – A doctor who visited Gaza on multiple medical missions.

Quadcopters

It should be explained that these machines are extremely efficient and are better at identifying victims that human snipers. They are made by Elbit Systems in England a firm the UK government are desperately keen to support. Those protesting about the firm are arrested and tried for terrorist offences. We cannot claim that drones made in England are used in the following episode.

A drone was able to identify a mother suckling a 10 day old baby and was able to kill the baby with a bullet through the head using a quadcopter (59). They are operated by a ‘Multi-Dimensional Unit – Unit 888 (71). An Israeli TV documentary had the following exchange:

‘Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel’s War’, one Israeli soldier described, “the drones, in my opinion, are what most dehumanises the other side. You see everything on a screen. You drop the bomb. It feels like a game. You can sit in some basement of a house, safe, with your helmet off, scratching your balls, half-dressed, and kill Palestinians.”

An article in Haaretz describes the killing as a kind of competition among IDF soldiers to include children.

Children as fair game – “every child born there is already a terrorist”

The report makes clear that its research shows children are not killed or wounded as a result of incidental or accidental actions but as a deliberate policy. The Inquiry noted political speeches such as:

“The Commission found that Palestinian children in Gaza have been explicitly depicted as “terrorists” by Israeli officials in their speeches, statements and rhetoric in the Israeli Knesset, media and social media. On 9 October 2023, a member of Knesset and deputy speaker of the Knesset, Nissim Vaturi, posted on social media: “Erase Gaza. Nothing else will satisfy us. It is not acceptable that we maintain a terrorist authority next to Israel. Do not leave a child there expel all the remaining ones at the end, so that they will not have a resurrection.” (76). On 30 January 2025, he again said: “Gaza is full of terrorists and every child born there is already a terrorist, from the moment of his birth.”

Child prisoners

Since the October massacre, 1,655 children have been detained and held in ‘Administrative Detention’ although some held in military detention or interrogation centres. The treatment of these children is appalling. They are stripped and blindfolded, often forced to kneel on gravel, they are subjected to beatings, use of rifle butts, restricted food and water, prevented from access to a toilet and told to drink their own urine. Dogs are used to intimidate and they are kept in cells with 24 hour lighting. Some have been raped or subject to other sexual assaults. There is at least one report of death by sarcopenia (a muscle wasting condition usually associated with ageing). In plain terms a boy starved to death (107f).

Conclusions

The Commission found that much of the harm suffered by Palestinian children was not incidental but intended to destroy the existence of the Palestinians in Gaza as a group. Since children embody the biological and social continuity of the group, the Commission has reasonable grounds to conclude that these acts form part of a deliberate strategy to destroy the future of the Palestinians in Gaza by targeting their children (352).

This is just one of the conclusions in the report which lists the many forms of violence against Palestinian children including wilful killing, torture and other inhuman acts, sexual and gender based violence against children, attacks on educational facilities and facilities caring for children.

UK support

The Israeli mission in Geneva said Israel rejected the commission’s “libellous sham”. Israel has fought hard against allegations of genocide, while receiving critical diplomatic support from its allies, including the US and the UK. Much was made of Sir Keir Starmer’s background as a human rights lawyer but his government has never deviated from its support for Israel with arms, intelligence and diplomatic cover. He stepped down as prime minister on 22nd June. Many may be shocked at the deliberate policy of killing children described in immense detail in this report.

The Salisbury MP Mr John Glen is a ‘proud member’ of the Conservative Friends of Israel. The MP for East Wiltshire, Danny Kruger, who switched to Reform last year, stated in an interview that all deaths in Gaza are the responsibility of Hamas. We ask how can any MP carry on supporting Israel while it is engaged in a programme of killing children as a matter of policy? Both are provided with columns in the local paper, the Salisbury Journal in which these views are never mentioned. We could find no reference to the report in the Israel supporting Daily Telegraph [accessed 25 June].

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL added after the original piece was posted:

On 29th June, B’Tselem, the Israeli based human rights group posted this video. It contains shocking images:

Unshielded Childhood: Palestinian children and teenagers killed by Israel in the West Bank in 2025 | B’Tselem

Guardian piece published on 29th June.

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Latest death penalty report


Report for mid-May to mid-June

June 2026

We are pleased to attach our latest report on the death penalty around the world thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling it. Although there is mention of a case in China, that country does not appear despite executing more or its citizens than the rest of the world combined.

Report May – June (Word)Download
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UN report on torture in Israel is horrific


The UN report into how Palestinians are treated is deeply troubling

November 2025

The UN has published its sixth periodic report on Israel (along with other countries) and contains a great deal of extremely troubling material. The scale of abuse and torture is huge and the methods truly barbaric. It seems to reveal a state which thinks it can act with impunity against Palestinians no doubt reflecting on the uncritical support of the US and only feeble commentary from countries such as the UK. Below are some of the extracts (paragraph numbers at the end of each extract).

  • Israel it notes does not accept jurisdiction for those held under its jurisdiction but outside its territory (8)
  • The UN urges Israel to incorporate the use of torture as a specific crime into its domestic law (11)
  • Palestinians do not receive fundamental legal safeguards. [This is a reflection of the apartheid system operating in the country] (12)
  • All detainees should be informed of their rights, the charges made against them and a right to a lawyer. They also have a right to medical attention. (13)
  • Expresses concern about mass arrests and the use of administrative detention. (14)
  • In the same vein it is concerned about mass arrests of women, children, pregnant women, older persons on the basis of ‘real or perceived group characteristics.’ Palestinians often held incommunicado.
  • Palestinians held in very poor conditions, without sanitation, with no ventilation, running water or natural light. They are denied access to medical care. (18)
  • There are reports of prisoners being blindfolded at all times, shackled to a bed, fed through straws and forced to wear incontinence garments due to their immobilisation. Women are denied feminine hygiene products, are separated from their babies and not allowed to breast feed them. (18)
  • Children are arrested, blindfolded and subject to torture and ill-treatment. Many children are held without charge and in solitary confinement. (22)
  • The government was unable to provide information about the numbers of deaths in custody. It is believed to be at least 75 since October 7th, 2023. Haaretz in its report on this topic says 98 have died in custody but we do not know the time period. It appears to be an abnormally high number of Palestinians who have died. The bodies show signs of torture and extreme malnutrition. Independent autopsies have not been carried out. (24)
  • The International Red Cross has not been allowed to inspect prisons. (26)

THE NEXT EXTRACT IS DEEPLY TROUBLING AND CARRIES A WARNING

The UN were troubled by reports about ‘organised and widespread use of torture and ill-treatment’ of detainees. The methods used included severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, waterboarding, use of prolonged stress positions, sexual violence, threats against detainees and their families, insults to their personal dignity, made to act like animals and being urinated on, use of restraints such that amputations were needed, performance of surgery without anaesthetic, sexual abuse of both men and women, rape, attempted rape, beating of genitals, electrocution of genitals and anus [..] (28)

Five Israeli human rights organisation have contributed evidence. Israel sought to argue that there are adequate controls but the committee was unpersuaded. Israel has 1 year to respond. If true, then the report describes a system out of control and casts a large shadow over the nation. These do not appear to be isolated incidents but a systematic and organised abuse of Palestinian people being held often without charge in Israeli prisons. The appalling treatment of women and the torture of children is especially troubling.

Full UN report

UN report NovDownload
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Rain does not deter vigil


91st vigil attracts strong attendance despite rain

August 2025

The situation in Gaza gets ever worse with 63,000 now dead many of whom women and children. Around 330 have now died as a result of starvation and this number is set to grow. Peace looks a long way off and from the Israeli perspective, with American and Trump’s unqualified support, they are able to continue without let or hindrance. American support has even extended to banning members of the PLO from attending the UN.

The president of the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials have had their visas revoked. The reason is because the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed them for undermining peace efforts and for ‘seeking the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state’. We seem to have entered a looking glass world as far as the Americans are concerned. The Palestinians are far from being as white as snow but they are far, far weaker than Israel who have all the weapons and materiel needed for the campaign of destruction in Gaza.

On the subject of weapons, the Defence and Security Equipment International exhibition to be held in London starting shortly will not feature a stand by the Israeli government. Their arms firms will still be there however. The UK government has decided not to allow a delegation to attend. “The Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong,” a UK government spokesperson said. “As a result, we can confirm that no Israeli government delegation will be invited to attend DSEI UK 2025.“

The BBC coyly refers to the exhibition using the word ‘defence’ and there will no doubt be defence firms there. But it is much more about our arms industry, heavily promoted and subsidised by our government, and which sells arms to many of the world’s troubled countries thus aiding in the carnage. The government claims it has ‘robust controls’ but with the big rise in open licences, this is a dubious claim. The fact that they were happy to allow Israel to attend until yesterday, only days before opening, speaks volumes. We should never forget the victims in these conflicts are women, children and the vulnerable. British firms profit, millions suffer. The extent of UK support for Israel is hard to quantify. RAF flights over Gaza continue the purpose of which is unclear.

There is still no sign of the local MP Mr John Glen and he did not mention the vigils in his weekly Salisbury Journal column which focused on his work getting to know people in his constituency. He is a member of the Friends of Israel lobby group in the Commons.

    A video of the vigil, attended by around 40, is available here courtesy of Peter Gloyns.

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    The vigils go on


    88th vigil well attended. Fears of police action unfounded

    August 2025

    The vigils still continue in Salisbury with unflagging attendance despite the passage of time. It must be a first that a protest of this nature has carried on for such a time despite an almost complete absence of coverage by the local paper, the Salisbury Journal. It is a demonstration that many people feel outraged by the behaviour of the IDF and the use of starvation as a weapon of war. The number of those dying this way is now over a hundred and the death toll now stands at 61,000 with many thousands more buried in the rubble that is now Gaza.

    Many nations – including the UK belatedly – are beginning to withdraw their support from Israel. Germany announced last week that no more arms will be sent. German commentators have called this action ‘monumental’ and one the government would have preferred not to have taken. Germany has spent decades trying to make amends for the terrible events committed by the Nazis in the Second World War. Like many other countries around the world, the disproportionate killing of civilians in Gaza and the increasing death toll from starvation is having a profound effect on public opinion.

    The Knesset last week voted to take military control of the whole of Gaza in an operation due to commence in the Autumn. It is interesting looking at the values the IDF profess to have including: The IDF and our soldiers are obligated to protect human dignity. Every individual is of inherent value, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender or status. IDF soldiers appear to have shot 1,373 Palestinians seeking food since the 27 May. Human dignity?

    There was a rare weekend meeting of the UN Security Council on 10 August to discuss Israel’s plans to occupy the whole of Gaza seen widely as a backwards step likely to lead inevitable to more death and destruction.

    There seems no end to it and the only people who can end it are the Americans who are determined supporters of Netanyahu.

    Palestine Action

    Over the weekend there were widespread protests and many arrests of those alleged to be in support of Palestine Action, now deemed a ‘terrorist’ organisation by the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper. Over 500 were arrested. Cooper has defended her action saying people do not know the full truth about the organisation.

    The human rights charity Amnesty International’s chief executive Sacha Deshmukh suggested the response to the protest was disproportionate.

    He said: “We have long criticised UK terrorism law for being excessively broad and vaguely worded and a threat to freedom of expression. These arrests demonstrate that our concerns were justified.”

    RAF flights

    The depth of feeling about the government and its continued support for Israel is profound. People are deeply upset at seeing an entire population subjected to the brutal treatment by an extremely powerful army such as the IDF knowing that the UK is supporting them behind the scenes. The RAF continue to overfly Gaza with hundreds of sorties. Over 500 have taken place up to March this year with 215 since Keir Starmer became prime minister. The purpose of these flights is shrouded in mystery and the claim that they are to ‘help locate hostages’ is especially weak: 500+ flights and not to find one? Bit of a waste of money surely? There is no parliamentary oversight of these flights the purpose of which are obscure and troubling.

    The RAF enjoys a fine reputation in the UK. Here in Salisbury – where Spitfires were manufactured in various places around the City and the airfield where they left for service is near where this is being typed – especially so. They valiantly defended the nation at the start of the war and ‘the Few’ are the stuff of legend. It is a shame therefore to see them being deployed in what appears to be shady activities in defence of the IDF.

    Vigil No 88 – pictures courtesy of Peter Gloyns

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    Gaza just gets worse and worse


    Gaza situation worsens with no real end in sight. Labour party prevaricates over Palestine

    July 2025

    UPDATED 28 JULY

    It seems unbelievable that in the 21st century, we should be witnessing the ever deteriorating situation in Gaza. Currently, famine is adding to the misery of destruction. Around 59,000 have died by some estimates but the ultimate death toll will be much higher as thousands lie undiscovered in the ruins. Images on our screens each evening of starving people, infants with emaciated arms and legs and scenes of mayhem at the food points now being managed by Israeli and American agencies are beginning to strike home. Over 1,000 have been killed at these food stations and images of people clamouring for a ladle of some kind of lentil stew are shocking.

    Our own government continues to vacillate over whether to recognise Palestine. One is inclined to say to them, ‘leave it much longer and there won’t be much left to recognise’. Israel continues to blame Hamas for what is happening and it cannot be denied they have a role in it. They also blame the UN for the failure to distribute the aid which is there much of which is rotting. No independent journalists are allowed into the area so verification is hard to achieve. In view of the history of the UN, both here and elsewhere in the world, in distributing aid in difficult situations, it stretches the imagination that they are wilfully withholding supplies. That the IDF is making life as difficult as possible and imposing multiple restrictions seems more likely to be true.

    It also fits with the narrative of several of the Israeli cabinet who have made extreme comments about the future of Palestinians. The violent settler activity in the West Bank, where journalists can get access sometimes also suggests, a deliberate policy. We see settlers attacking Palestinian villages and homes with the army looking on.

    Foreign Secretary Lammy a member

    We discovered this week, courtesy of Declassified UK, that around 130 Conservative MPs, including the MP for Salisbury John Glen, are members of ‘Conservative Friends of Israel‘ along with 40 Labour members. Together they have received over a third of a million pounds of funding and with other front groups the total is over £0.5m. It is the largest lobbying group in the Commons. Included in the list are several members of the Cabinet including David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary who is also alleged to have received over £30,000 from Jewish interests. Sir Keir Starmer has received £50,000 from Trevor Chinn described as a ‘Jewish Grandee’ who promotes Israeli causes in the UK. He was awarded the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honour for services to the state of Israel.

    So while arrests take place of people alleged to be supporting Palestine Action, a significant number of MPs enjoy funding from Israeli lobbying organisations. Another £0.3m million is given to MPs by Individuals supportive of Israel. Hmm.

    Vigil

    Number 86 took place yesterday (27th) and around 50 attended, the largest for some while. We were delighted to welcome some from Southampton. No sign of the local MP nor any mention of the vigils in his weekly column in the local paper.

    Some of our 50 or so supporter on the traffic island.

    This YouTube by a Jewish man talking about dehumanising people is a powerful watch.

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    UN expresses deep doubts about human rights


    UN High Commissioner Volker Türk expresses widespread concerns about threats to human rights

    March 2024

    Volker Türk, addressing the 58th Human Rights Council, has expressed a range of concerns about the state of human rights today. As we said in our last post celebrating the 50th year since the formation of the Salisbury group, any idea that we were on a slow path to a better future with wider and deeper respect for rights in countries and communities around the world, is no longer believed. Not only are old threats still in existence, but new threats are appearing and gaining ground.

    He begins by something of a tour d’horizon of conflicts around the world of which there are now 130

    according to the Red Cross. In addition to the familiar which appear on our screens most days, there are conflicts in the Congo, Yemen (which has dropped out of the news recently), Myanmar and Haiti. He is concerned that in each of these wars, civilians are deliberately attacked and subject to sexual violence, and famine used as weapons of war.

    Health care workers have suffered grievously and in 2023, 480 were killed, double the number of the previous year. Humanitarian workers are also being killed with 356 dying in 2024.

    The new threat comes from individuals and corporations which have never had so much control and influence over our lives as they do today. This is something of a new phenomenon which has emerged in the last two decades or so. “A handful of unelected tech oligarchs have our data: they know where we live, what we do, our genes and our health conditions, our thoughts, our habits, our desires and our fears. They know us better than we know ourselves“. Several of these ‘techbros’ as they are called played a significant role in the recent US presidential election. Either by manipulating their algorithms, by direct financial aid or in the case of Jeff Bezos, his control over the Washington Post, they were able to play a hugely influential part in the result.

    Unregulated power

    Türk says that any form of unregulated power can lead to oppression, subjugation, and even tyranny – the playbook of the autocrat. We should be very concerned at the activities of the tech companies. Virtually all are American based and as we have seen in the last few days, the post-war consensus has been shattered by the new administration’s statements and policy changes.

    President Putin of Russia, a demonstrable tyrant, who’s regime has murdered journalists and sent Navalny to a remote Siberian camp where he subsequently died for reasons unknown, is now being courted by the US president Donald Trump even having invaded Ukraine.

    Governments seem unwilling or unable to control the companies’ activities. One by one, the companies have dropped their internal controls used to moderate content. A prime example of the effects – the murderous effects – of the tech companies was Myanmar. Hate speech and posts against religious minorities was widely spread on Facebook leading to considerable violence. Facebook was slow to remove posts and did so only after much damage was done.

    Speed and scale of mis and disinformation can have dramatic and far reaching effects on people’s lives and rights. The tech companies have shown a remarkable lack of concern to control the content on their sites. They exhibit an almost mystical belief in their platforms and with the current belief in America in liberty and free speech absolutism, the risks for ordinary people are considerable. They cannot be voted out except by shareholders whose concern is profits not the effects their platforms might have.

    We should be very concerned that a group of American companies, closely aligned to the politics of the White House, are able to have profound influence over the lives of millions yet are subject to almost no controls, certainly not from outside the US.

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    54th Vigil


    Powerful video of this Vigil

    December 2024

    The 54th Vigil was held in Salisbury on Saturday 14th with good attendance. There is a powerful video produced by Peter Gloyns with images from Gaza. The death toll continues to rise and is now in the region of 45,000 with no sign of a let up.

    Last week saw the fall of Assad in Syria who has fled to Moscow. The speed of HTS’s swoop on Damascus and the fall of the much hated regime has surprised the world. We hope of course that the Syrian people will have a future with a normal government that will be tolerant of minorities and will not rule by fear. Assad, supported by Russia, was spectacularly brutal. He used chemical weapons on his people and also dropped deadly barrel bombs on many towns and cities, particularly Aleppo. His regime tortured thousands many of whom were murdered in large numbers.

    It is sad to note that no sooner had the regime fallen than Israeli forces used the hiatus to seize land in Syria. The UN has asked them to leave Syrian territory. They have entered the buffer zone. Now should be a time for the nation to come together and start the lengthy process of rebuilding the state. Peace and human rights should be the norm now. They have been plagued by outside interference from Turkey, Iran and the US with Russia a willing helper to enable them to establish a port in the Mediterranean.

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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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