Month: April 2020

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QARN signed in support of Freed Voices letter

24 April 2020 to Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, Home Secretary

Dear Home Secretary,

We, Freed Voices, are writing to express our concern regarding the serious risks posed by Covid-19 to those who continue to be held in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) across the UK.

The risk to life in IRCs has been made clear by independent experts.[1] As you will know, the one and only purpose of immigration detention is to facilitate imminent removals from the UK. There is no need for anyone’s life to be risked while global travel restrictions prevent such removals. We therefore urge you to immediately release all those held under immigration powers in the UK and put on hold any further detentions.

We also seek urgent answers as to why, in contrast to the approach taken by the Ministry of Justice in prisons, there appears to be almost no testing for Covid-19 taking place in IRCs for staff or those detained.

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COVID-19 IMMIGRATION DETENTION CRISIS

[Note from QARN: what can you do – bring this to the attention of your MP – especially if your MP is on the Home Affairs Select Committee. This is going to the Committee on 29.4.2020 – see Members below]

Dear Home Secretary,

We, Freed Voices, are writing to express our concern regarding the serious risks posed by Covid-19 to those who continue to be held in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) across the UK. Continue reading “COVID-19 IMMIGRATION DETENTION CRISIS”

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Ease the immense suffering for undocumented migrants

20.4.2020 The BaRE UK: The impact of COVID-19 government measures on asylum seekersAsylum seekers are already the most isolated and marginalised people in the UK and things have just gotten a lot worse for them.

Loraine Masiya Mponela, the chairperson for Coventry Asylum and Refugee Action Group (CARAG), reflects on the unique challenges being faced by asylum seekers and undocumented migrants in the UK.

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Global Compacts for Migration, and Refugees

Briefing from Parliament: The United Nations Global Compact for Migration  

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was formally adopted by 164 Member States of the United Nations, including the UK, in December 2018. This briefing explains what’s in the Compact and its implications for Member States.

Download the full report: The United Nations Global Compact for Migration (PDF, 2 MB) Continue reading “Global Compacts for Migration, and Refugees”

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QCEA: Covid-19 and inequality _ beyond isolation

Quaker Council for European Affairs: 9 April 2020 Navigating uncertain waters: Covid-19 and inequality 

Isolation, disruption and confusion have interrupted many of our lives. Kékéli Kpognon and Andrew Lane chart a way through by focusing on those who have been surviving these conditions for years.

Policies that show generosity towards asylum seekers make some European politicians very nervous, which is why some of what we have seen in Europe in the last few days is so remarkable. The deportation of asylum seekers is being suspended (Germany), immigration detainees are being released (Italy), homeless people are being housed (France), and some are being given temporary asylum (Portugal).

But rather than protect people from Covid-19, some governments are using the crisis for other purposes. We are seeing the right to claim asylum under European and international law being suspended (Greece), and the granting of new powers for a prime minister to rule by decree indefinitely (Hungary).

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