11 Aug 2011:Â MANY young asylum seekers in Wales are being left âin limboâ because their age is disputed by the agencies meant to be helping them, according to a critical report.
The Welsh Refugee Councilâs (WRC) report, Young Lives In Limbo, claims there is a culture of disbelief in the authorities dealing with asylum seekers whose age is under question. Continue reading “Report finds official distrust meaning young asylum seekers âleft in limboâ”
Responsible department: Ministry of Justice
A petition to call on the government to retain its position regards the abolition of the Death Penalty for all offences. That the British people note that only 58 nations currently use capital punishment, as opposed to 95 which have abolished it, further notes the un-retractable nature of such a sentence in incidents of miscarriages of Justice, further notes the death penalty does not reduce crime or act as a deterrent and in US states which practice capital punishment incidents of homicide are higher than US states which do not, further notes the higher cost of capital punishment compared to life imprisonment, believes that British Justice should not be in the same league as China, Iran, North Korea, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Syria which do practice capital punishment on a routine basis and that the death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights and an affront to the values of British Justice.
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
Dear
Re: End indefinite detention of people in immigration removal centres
I am writing to call for the end to the indefinite detention of people who
are in immigration removal centres across the UK.
Detention Action believes that the Home Office practice of indefinitely
detaining people who cannot be returned to their country of origin is a
waste of money and human lives. I encourage you to read Detention Actionâs
report No Return, No Release, No Reason and the previous report Detained
Lives: The real cost of indefinite detention. These reports highlight that
indefinite detention simply does not work: as a means of deporting people,
it is ineffective and grossly inefficient, costing ÂŁ68,000 per detainee per
year. The testimony of detainees shows the terrible human cost, with many
experiencing mental health problems, self-harming or attempting suicide.
The UK government derogates from the EU Returns Directive which sets an 18
month maximum time limit for immigration detention. Detained Lives calls on
the government to end this inhumane and ineffective practice.
I would like to ask you to urge the Home Affairs Committee and the Joint
Committee of Human Rights to investigate the detention system.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Every single woman, the new campaign under the Women’s Asylum Charter focuses on the disparity in the treatment of women who are seeking asylum compared with women settled in the UK.
We believe a change of culture designed to produce a genuinely gender sensitive asylum system is urgently needed to ensure that women seeking asylum receive a comparable standard of treatment to women in similar situations who are settled here already. Continue reading “The rights of women seeking asylum: a charter”
Prisons inspector Nick Hardwick says ‘objectionable practice’ by escort staff at Gatwick airport should cease immediately
The chief inspector of prisons has condemned the immigration authorities for “a distressing and inhumane practice” of taking detainees to the airport as “reserves” for others being deported.
Nick Hardwick says the “objectionable practice” by overseas escort staff at the G4S-run Tinsley House removal centre at Gatwick airport should stop immediately. Continue reading “‘Inhumane’ act of taking deportation reserves to airport condemned”
Report on an announced inspection of Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre 7 â 11 February 2011 by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, FULL REPORT HERE: http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/inspectorate-reports/hmipris/tinsley-house-report2011.pdf
Croydon NoBorders is calling for a demo in Haywards Heath from 1pm on Saturday 30th July to protest against a new detention centre for children and families which is due to open in late summer at nearby Pease Pottage.
Haywards Heath is the home of Mid Sussex Council which granted planning permission for the former Crawley Forest School to be converted into a migrant prison.
The migrant prison, known euphemistically as a “pre-departure accommodation centre”, will be run by the infamous security firm G4S, who are facing charges for corporate manslaughter following the death of deportee Jimmy Mubenga on a BA flight in November. The prison will “normally” hold families for up to 72 hours but they could be held for up to a week in “exceptional circumstances”. Continue reading “Demonstrate against new family detention centre in Sussex 30 July 2011”
The UK Border Agency needs to adopt a consistent approach to the use of country of origin information (COI) as it plays a vital role in establishing if an asylum claim is well founded, said John Vine CBE QPM, the Independent Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency, publishing his thematic inspection report on how the Agency uses COI in deciding asylum applications.
The inspection took place between October 2010 and May 2011 and looked at how COI affected decisions to grant or refuse asylum.
At the time of inspection, the Chief Inspector found evidence that case owners were familiar with, and used, sources such as COI reports which were available for the countries from where most asylum applications in the UK were made. Continue reading “UK Border Agency needs to adopt a consistent approach to the use of country of origin information”
UK: Ill-trained, dangerous and unaccountable- Amnesty calls for complete overhaul of enforced removals by private security companies
Posted: 07 July 2011
The UK Government must conduct a complete and radical overhaul of the current system of enforced removals from the UK, according to a new briefing and campaign launched today (7 July) by Amnesty International UK.
Private security companies, contracted by the UK Government, have reportedly used dangerous and improper control and restraint techniques. In the 2010 case of Jimmy Mubenga at least, these appear to have resulted in someoneâs death. One such technique was nick-named by contractors âCarpet Karaokeâ, as it involved forcing an individualâs face down towards the carpet with such force that they were only able to scream inarticulately âlike a bad karaoke singerâ. It involves the seated detainee being handcuffed, with a tight seatbelt through the cuffs and their head pushed down between their legs. There is a serious risk of death by positional asphyxia when this technique is used. Continue reading “Amnesty calls for complete overhaul of enforced removals by private security companies”
The Immigration Advisory Service (IAS), the largest provider of publically funded immigration and asylum legal advice, advised today that it had been placed into administration. The IAS, a registered charity, has been in existence for 35 years, and employs 300 staff at 14 locations across England and Scotland. It is renowned for a large number of important legal precedent cases which have been taken through the Courts, including to the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights. Continue reading “Immigration Advisory Service (âIASâ) is in Administration”
