Month: June 2012

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UK’s child refugees tell their unique stories

The traumatic stories of child refugees living in the UK are told in a series of animated short films aimed at schoolchildren during Refugee Week

  • The animated film about Juliane, now aged 12, who became separated from her mother Link to this video

It is not news that millions of children worldwide are displaced by war and human rights violations every year; only recently, we heard of the Syrian children being used as human shields in the conflict. With organisations acting as necessary and admirable mouthpieces for them, however, it means that we rarely get to hear from the children themselves. A new series of animated short films, Seeking Refuge, is seeking to change that.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/the-womens-blog-with-jane-martinson/2012/jun/18/uk-child-refugees-stories?CMP=twt_gu

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Human rights under attack from all sides

Following Theresa May’s annoucement of draconian requirements for those wishing to live with their loved ones in the UK (needing to earn more than £18, 600 or £24, 800 if you have children and want to live with your non-EEA national partner or spouse in the UK; needing to prove an ‘attachment’ to the UK; a harder English language test; and a probation period increased from 2 to 5 years), the release of the government’s Statement of Intent on Family Migration revealed their plans in all their gory detail.  You can download the Statement here; you may wish to sit down first. Continue reading “Human rights under attack from all sides”

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2011:42.5 million people ended 2011 either as refugees_15.42 million, internally displaced_26.4 million, or as asylum seekers_895,000

UNHCR Global trends report, 2011: UNHCR’s new report documents that 42.5 million people ended 2011 either as refugees (15.42 million), internally displaced (26.4 million), or as asylum seekers (895,000). 4.3 million people were newly displaced in 2011, but the high number of new refugees was offset by large numbers of IDPs returning home:  3.2 million, the highest rate in more than a decade. The report identifies several worrying trends: forced displacement is affecting larger numbers of people globally, with the annual level exceeding 42 million for each of the last five years and a person who becomes a refugee is likely to stay one for many years – 7.1 million refugees in UNHCR’s mandate have been in exile for at least five years.

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Controversial doctor and Barnardo’s serve UK’s flawed child detention policy

Cracks show in ‘compassionate approach’ to locking up children for the sake of administrative convenience.

A doctor whose assessment of a vulnerable patient was deemed “irrational” and “tainted” by the then Mr Justice Leveson in a 2006 High Court Judgement has been appointed to an “independent” Panel guarding the welfare of children detained by the UK Border Agency. Dr John W Keen joined the Panel even though he had for years been paid to advise the Border Agency on whether people were medically fit to be deported. Continue reading “Controversial doctor and Barnardo’s serve UK’s flawed child detention policy”

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Violence against migrants, migrant workers and their families

Statement made at the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in late April on the topic of ‘

Apologies for the lateness of informing you about this, but there was a statement made at the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in late April on the topic of ‘violence against migrants, migrant workers and their families’. It was made by the Quaker representatives who attend the Crime Commission on behalf of Friends worldwide and received an appreciate response. Continue reading “Violence against migrants, migrant workers and their families”

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Immigration Detention Reaches All Time High

(All figures/text from UKBA Immigration Statistics Q1/2012)  Thanks to National Coalition Against Deportations Committee: 
There were 3,034 people, 91% of capacity, in immigration detention on 31 March 2012, the highest recorded since publication of data began in 2001, and 14% more than on 31 March 2011.
[Lindholme IRC is no longer has reverted to a HMP Cat D & C) Continue reading “Immigration Detention Reaches All Time High”
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Refugee Council: continued detention of children

Refugee Council’s Not a minor offence documents continued detention of children two years after government promises to stop

The charity’s report, Not a minor Offence, focuses on children they are working with who have arrived in the UK on their own, but who are not believed to be the age they say they are by social workers or immigration officials. They are then wrongly treated as adults in the asylum system, meaning they face being detained with other adults, and being removed to their own country, in breach of child protection laws.Read the article here or download the report directly here. Continue reading “Refugee Council: continued detention of children”