Duties of Local Authorities to Unaccompanied Migrant Children – Family Law Week

Posted September 9th, 2016 in care orders, children, EC law, local government, news, refugees by tracey

‘Jennifer Kotilaine, barrister of 42 Bedford Row, analyses the duties of local authorities to unaccompanied migrant children in the light of the House of Lords European Union Select Committee’s recent critical report on the subject.’

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Family Law Week, 1st September 2016

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

New Home Office API on Gay Asylum Claims: Not Fit For Purpose – Free Movement

‘The new Asylum Policy Instruction on Sexual Orientation Issues in the Asylum Claim, published last Wednesday, marks an unwelcome retrograde step for the Home Office, which still continues to apply the ‘voluntary discretion test’ to gay asylum claims, even though this has been held to be unlawful, as a matter of EU law, since July 2015. Having made positive strides with respect to the quality of decision-making since the public outcry over the sexually explicit methods of questioning gay asylum seekers in February 2014, in August 2016 this API will lead to sub-standard and unlawful decisions by the Home Office, and arguably Courts and Tribunals who rely on the API, leading to devastating outcomes to those returned to countries where they will suffer persecution.’

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Free Movement, 8th August 2016

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Migrant children are being failed by UK, says Lords committee report – The Guardian

Posted July 26th, 2016 in asylum, children, detention, immigration, news, refugees, reports, select committees by sally

‘The UK is shirking its responsibility to care for thousands of unaccompanied migrant children, dismissing them as “somebody else’s problem”, a report has concluded.’

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The Guardian, 26th July 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The Human Right Not To Hide. Celebrating The Anniversary Of A Landmark LGBTQ Case – RightsInfo

‘Six years ago tomorrow [7 July], the UK Supreme Court said that gay people should not have to hide their sexuality in order to avoid persecution in their home country.’

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RightsInfo, 6th July 2016

Source: www.rightsinfo.org

Rwandan considered involved in genocide wins UK settlement appeal – Free Movement

Posted June 29th, 2016 in appeals, genocide, news, refugees by sally

‘The case of Ruhumuliza (Article 1F and “undesirable”) [2016] UKUT 284 (IAC) concerns an Anglican bishop judged by the Secretary of State on the balance of probabilities to have been involved in crimes against humanity, specifically genocide, in Rwanda in 1994. He was therefore excluded from the protection of the Refugee Convention by the Secretary of State. He disputed the allegations but had not challenged the Home Office decision in court.’

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Free Movement, 28th June 2016

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

How Abdul Haroun was prosecuted despite rules to protect refugees – The Guardian

Posted June 23rd, 2016 in asylum, news, prosecutions, railways, refugees, sentencing by sally

‘Abdul Haroun’s case for asylum was seemingly deemed so overwhelming that within 24 hours of being interviewed by Home Office officials he was granted it.’

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The Guardian, 22nd June 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

What is the legal meaning of “refugee”? – Free Movement

Posted June 23rd, 2016 in asylum, freedom of movement, immigration, news, refugees, treaties by sally

‘This week is Refugee Week. The Free Movement blog is about communicating complex legal issues in immigration and asylum law in a clear way and I thought it would be a good time to put together a short blog post explaining what a refugee actually is in legal terms and to collect together some of our previous blog posts about asylum issues. I hope you find it useful and interesting!’

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Free Movement, 22nd June 2016

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Myth buster: memories of trauma are engraved on the brain – Free Movement

Posted June 22nd, 2016 in asylum, immigration, mental health, news, psychiatric damage, refugees by sally

‘We tend to believe that the more important an experience, the more likely it is that it will be “engraved” on the brain. In the asylum system, this is maintained by decision makers who maintain the belief that a genuine victim of trauma will be particularly able to recall the traumatic event.’

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Free Movement, 21st June 2016

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Failed asylum seeker guilty of smuggling hundreds in to UK – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 12th, 2016 in asylum, extradition, news, refugees, terrorism, trafficking in human beings by sally

‘A failed Iraqi asylum seeker has been convicted of helping to smuggle up to 3,000 migrants into the UK but is fighting extradition.’

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Daily Telegraph, 11th May 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Refugee held illegally after Home Office refused to believe he was 16 – The Guardian

‘Call for investigation into case of Syrian boy who was locked up for almost a month despite having documents proving identity.’

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The Guardian, 4th May 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Government defeated again in Lords over child refugees – BBC News

‘The government has been defeated again in the House of Lords over calls to take in child refugees from Europe.’

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BBC News, 26th April 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Government avoids defeat over lone child refugees call – BBC News

Posted April 26th, 2016 in amendments, bills, children, immigration, news, refugees by sally

‘MPs have voted against an attempt to force the government to allow 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees into the UK from Europe.’

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BBC News, 26th April 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Returning refugees to Yemen may breach human rights, says UK – The Guardian

Posted April 15th, 2016 in export controls, human rights, news, refugees, Saudi Arabia, weapons by tracey

‘Indiscriminate acts of violence by both sides in the civil war in Yemen, including Saudi bombing of medical centres, is so widespread that the Britain has declared sending asylum seekers back to most parts of the country would likely be a breach of the European convention on human rights.’

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The Guardian, 14th April 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

House of Lords votes to let lone child refugees come to Britain – The Guardian

Posted March 22nd, 2016 in bills, children, immigration, news, parliament, refugees by sally

‘The government has been defeated in the Lords as peers voted to allow 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees into the country.’

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The Guardian, 21st March 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Vulnerable victims of violence ‘at risk’ over funding uncertainty – The Guardian

Posted January 22nd, 2016 in bills, budgets, news, refugees, victims, violence, women by sally

‘The most vulnerable victims of violent crimes, including abused women and refugees, are being put at a greater risk over uncertainty in funding to frontline services, officials have warned in a letter to the government. Police and crime commissioners (PCCs) from across England have called on the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to provide urgent clarification of the grants available to victims’ services.’

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The Guardian, 21st January 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Part 6 of the Immigration Bill – Free Movement

‘The second reading of the Immigration Bill in the House of Commons is today. We have seen how even more appeals will be out of country under its regime, and the greater powers given to immigration officers under Part 3. Part 6 – including Schedules 7 and 8 – offers a mix of provisions, including ensuring the UK complies with international law on blacklisted persons and introduces civil penalties for aircraft and airport managers if they do not ensure people go through control zones. The final section gives a raft of new powers to immigration officers (where have we seen that before?), this time to intercept and detain boats suspected of carrying undocumented migrants, and to arrest anyone suspected of facilitating illegal migration in to the UK.’

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Free Movement, 13th October 2015

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Conservatives’ asylum policy on Syria criticised as ‘too low, too slow, too narrow’ – The Guardian

Posted October 12th, 2015 in asylum, human rights, immigration, legal profession, news, political parties, refugees by tracey

‘The government’s offer to take in 20,000 Syrian refugees over five years is far “too low, too slow and too narrow”, according to a statement published by 300 senior lawyers, former law lords and retired judges.’

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The Guardian, 12th October 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

UN torture investigator says UK plan to scrap Human Rights Act is ‘dangerous’ – The Guardian

‘The UN special rapporteur on torture has accused David Cameron of a “cold-hearted ” approach to the migration crisis, warning that plans to scrap the Human Rights Act risk subverting international obligations designed to protect people fleeing persecution.’

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The Guardian, 3rd October 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

July 2015 immigration update podcast – Free Movement

‘Welcome to the July 2015 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. In this episode I start by talk about Sir Nicholas Winton then move on to discuss the huge delays in appeal hearing listings and some other tribunal news, cover some immigration rule issues including a brief overview of Statement of Changes HC 297 and then move onto a number of cases, including a review of Article 8 case law and some of the more interesting recent offerings from the tribunal. The material is drawn mainly from the July blog posts on Free Movement.’

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Free Movement, 7th September 2015

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Yarl’s Wood conditions deteriorated so much women are being treated like ‘animals’ – The Independent

‘Conditions at a privately run immigration removal centre have “deteriorated” over the past year to the extent that almost half of the women held there fear for their safety, according to a damning report published by the Chief Inspector of Prisons.’

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The Independent, 12th August 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk