How should the voluntary sector respond to the government’s review of children’s detention? The review (the terms of which were published on 10 June, allowing consultation till 1 July) will examine the way the UK Border Agency (UKBA) deals with asylum applications from families, including contact arrangements and access to legal representation; current arrangements for
News Service
Asylum health project expands provision
The free healthcare advocacy programme, Project: London, is to open its doors one Saturday of every month to accommodate the rising numbers of users. Run by the charity Doctors of the World UK, Project: London has been working since 2006 with the aim of helping the most vulnerable get access to medical treatment and advice.
Freedom – but not for all
The government’s much vaunted freedom agenda entrenches a two-tier system of rights, with migrants and other unpopular minorities largely excluded. On 25 May 2010, the Queen’s speech promised: ‘Legislation will be brought forward to restore freedoms and civil liberties, through the abolition of Identity Cards and repeal of unnecessary laws.’ The following day, 26 May
Acclaimed photographer barred
Yusuf Sayman, a Turkish photojournalist based in New York, was refused a visa to attend his multimedia exhibition at Kings College London for the launch of the International State Crime Initiative (ISCI) on 14 June. The exhibition was specially commissioned by ISCI, and Sayman travelled to Turkey and Iraq in spring 2010 to photograph and
Migreurop at the Istanbul crossroads
Author, Matt Carr, describes a recent conference to coordinate pan-European campaigning on migration and detention. On 27-29 May more than sixty researchers, human rights activists and NGO representatives attended an international meeting of the Migreurop network at Istanbul’s Mimar Sinan Fina Arts University to share experiences of local campaigns and initiatives and coordinate future strategies
Prison system treats Muslims as potential extremists
The security-led approach by prison authorities towards Muslim prisoners has led to victimisation and a disproportionate use of segregation and restraint, according to a new report. The Chief Inspector of Prisons, Dame Anne Owers, says blanket treatment of the Muslim prison population has focused largely on efforts to limit the spread of radicalisation and violent
New government seeks to bully judges
Those expecting a new spirit of fairness and social liberalism to engulf the UK Border Agency (UKBA) following the insertion of the LibDems into government are perhaps beginning to realise the folly of their hopes in the light of recent news. The uncertain ‘good news’ that the detention of children is to be ended, at
Darfuri asylum seeker failed by the system
Kirsten Heaven, barrister at Garden Court Chambers, writes about the deaths of foreign nationals in custody and the critical verdict in the recent inquest into the self-inflicted death of a young Darfuri in HMP Chelmsford. The existence of foreign national prisoners (FNPs) languishing in British jails and being released without consideration of deportation was brought
Deportation targets trump children’s rights
When the newly-elected government announced it would end the detention of children, IRR News cautioned against early optimism. This week’s developments explain why. The Guardian‘s exposé that the UK Border Agency (UKBA) plans to set up a £4 million ‘reintegration centre’ in Kabul for unaccompanied minors shows that when it comes to unaccompanied minors, it’s
Playing the Gypsy ‘race card’
The Con-Dem coalition has started an offensive against the most marginal and disadvantaged of all Britain’s minorities, Gypsies and Travellers. Putting aside brave new world soundbites on ‘freedom’, ‘fairness’ and civil liberties, the first wave of ‘efficiency savings’ has wiped out £30 million already offered to local authorities and housing associations to support the development