Alternatives to detention
There has been debate about alternatives to detention.
Common elements of a solution include:
[information from other countries]:
there are community-based approaches that have a casework and welfare focus,
and community-based approaches that primarily use restrictive conditions to encourage compliance.
Given the limited capacity of the detention estate, the most obvious alternative to detention is simply to not detain.
Evidence:
a lack of evidence that families systematically disappear pending judicial review or other legal appeals;
questioning about why it is so often used,
and why children are subjected to spending relatively long periods of time in the detention estate. Continue reading “Alternatives to detention”
Letâs end child detention at the Release Carnival,
Our friends at SOAS Detainee Support are hosting the Release Carnival in Londonâs Torrington Square on Saturday 5th June from 12 noon, calling on the government to stop detaining families now.
http://releasecarnival.wordpress.com
When the new government said it would âend the detention of children for immigration purposesâ some people proclaimed victory.
But as the families locked up in Yarlâs Wood reminded everyone in a letter to Nick Clegg (published in last Sundayâs Observer), âwe are still here in the detention centreâ. Continue reading “Letâs end child detention at the Release Carnival,”
OutCry! campaign – It’s not over yet!
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Itâs not over yet, and we need your help.
Take action â email the Minister and join the Release Carnival!
The last few days have seen lots of news about the immigration detention of children. The new Government made a very welcome commitment last week that they would âend the detention of children for immigration purposesâ. This was followed shortly afterwards by a statement from Damian Green, the new Immigration Minister, setting out their plans for âa comprehensive reviewâ and his hopes to have âplans agreed within the next few monthsâ. It soon became clear that the Government intended to continue detaining children while their review took place â on Monday a mother and her eight-month old baby were detained at Dungavel detention centre in Scotland. But then almost immediately, following pressure from the Scottish Government, the UK Border Agency announced that no families would be detained in Scotland. Instead, families would be transported to Yarlâs Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire⌠Continue reading “OutCry! campaign – It’s not over yet!”
Refugee Week activities 2010 – Leicester, Oxford
5th and 6th June at Riverside Festival, Bede Island, Leicester – look for the Quakers stall where there will be an activity around children seeking asylum. Cost: Free. Sat 1pm-8pm; Sun 11am-4pm. Leicester’s Riverside Festival takes place in the city’s Bede Park. In addition to water-related events such as boat trips and illuminated boat parades, there is a mix of live music, stalls and a focus on activities for children. Continue reading “Refugee Week activities 2010 – Leicester, Oxford”
ECDN campaigns for immediate release of children in detention
Sir Al Aynsley-Green, the paediatrician who, as the first Childrenâs Commissioner for England, did more than any single person to expose the arrest and detention of innocent children, the injustices and sheer horror of their lived experiences, said:
â I am looking for two things: A demonstration of intent by releasing those currently held, not least because absconding is not an issue. Within weeks rather than months produce robust proposals. Detention is inhumane and shocking and there is no place for it in a country that claims to be civilised.â
Sir AL QUOTE IN FULL:
Sir Al Aynsley-Green, the first Childrenâs Commissioner for England:
âI welcome the focus on detention so soon in the new government. It must have a chance to produce an action plan. But the review should not be an excuse for prevarication. The evidence of harm to children is incontrovertible. And officials have had at least five years to think of alternatives during the pressure that I have applied as Childrenâs Commissioner. I am looking for two things: A demonstration of intent by releasing those currently held, not least because absconding is not an issue. Within weeks rather than months produce robust proposals. Detention is inhumane and shocking and there is no place for it in a country that claims to be civilised.â Continue reading “ECDN campaigns for immediate release of children in detention”
Conservative Lib-Dem deal
![]() We have agreed that there should be an annual limit on the number of non-EU economic migrants admitted into the UK to live and work. We will consider jointly the mechanism for implementing the limit. We will end the detention of children for immigration purposes. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8677933.stm |
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Questions about child detention at Sercoâs annual meeting in London
At Sercoâs annual meeting in Londonâs Queen Elizabeth Hall this morning Dr Frank Arnold, torture scars expert and Serco shareholder asked the following question:
âSerco is expanding its activities in Healthcare to include NHS hospital management, polyclinics and GP services. At the same time, the company is receiving serious criticism and reputational harm because of its role in the incarceration of children at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Detention Centre under contract to the UK Borders Agency. As the Chief Inspector of Prisons and Childrenâs Champion have publicly insisted, it is not possible to lock up children (who have done no wrong) Â without harming them,. Will the board agree to take legal steps to obtain release from its contracts with UK BA over administrative detention to improve the company’s reputation?â Continue reading “Questions about child detention at Sercoâs annual meeting in London”
International Childrenâs Day/ Release Carnival – 5 June 2010
In the week of International Childrenâs Day, on the 5th of June 2010, SOAS Detainee Support (SDS) will host RELEASE CARNIVAL
âWe were sleeping and the officer came. It was scary and Mum was crying.â
âThey broke our house.â
âThey were bashing and kicking the door.â
âItâs not nice going to the toilet in front of an officer.â Continue reading “International Childrenâs Day/ Release Carnival – 5 June 2010”
Quakers oppose detention of migrants’ children, and so should a new government
We must not punish the children
Quakers oppose detention of migrants’ children, and so should a new government by Michael Bartlet
Quakers believe in the unique value of every individual. From this follows a sense of equality that animates Quaker thinking today. The right to asylum becomes a legal counterpart to the religious insight of the common humanity of us all.
Refugees are the human face of international injustice. They are the place â in this country â where we see the real impact of inequality: armed conflict, the inability of failed states to provide a secure home for their citizens, and abusive governments. The impact of climate change adds a further dimension in increasing pressure on land and resources. That is why migration policy presents such a difficult problem. It is easier to close our eyes and ears to the victims of injustice abroad than acknowledge its wounded presence at our door. Continue reading “Quakers oppose detention of migrants’ children, and so should a new government”