A new report from Amnesty International explains why diplomatic assurances against torture are worthless. When, in December 2001, parliament approved the indefinite detention of ‘suspected international terrorists’ in the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act, it was persuaded by the then home secretary’s argument that the men could not be deported since the regimes from which
Background to the French commission on the burqa and niqab
As Belgium and France move to ban the burqa, the IRR European Race Audit (ERA) publishes today a briefing paper on ‘The background to the French parliamentary commission on the burqa and niqab’. It examines how André Gerin, the Communist Party mayor of Vénissieux, ignited the debate on the voile intégral in a country where,
Racial violence – the buried issue
Research from the Institute of Race Relations reveals that, on average, five people per year are being killed in racial attacks in the UK since the death of Stephen Lawrence. The Institute of Race Relations, the only research body in the UK to monitor racial violence, has found that a total of eighty-nine people have
Migrant Voice election special
The second edition of a new newspaper, highlighting the voices of migrants, is an election special. The latest edition of Migrant Voice is a 2010 election special. It includes pieces on migrant workers and the need for greater employment protection, the detrimental impacts of the new points based system for international students, the impact on
Ombudsman slates performance of Border Agency
The Parliamentary Ombudsman has found massive, agonising delays, a doubling of complaints and a catalogue of errors in case management at the UK Border Agency. In February 2010, the Parliamentary Ombudsman, Ann Abraham, published her fourth report on the UK Border Agency (UKBA), Fast and fair? . The Ombudsman’s remit is to investigate ‘injustice caused
European week of action against deportation
The Stop Deportation Network has proposed a European-wide week of action against deportation. The Stop Deportation Network, along with other groups in Europe, is proposing a week of action against deportation across Europe, with a focus on joint European mass deportation flights and the EU external border agency (Frontex). The proposed date for the action
Anti-racist rally in memory of dead Dublin teenager
Over 1,500 Dubliners took part in an anti-racist rally at the weekend in memory of Toyosi Shittabey, the 15-year-old schoolboy stabbed to death in Dublin on Good Friday. The rally, on Saturday 10 April, came a week after Toyosi was stabbed to death in what is being described as a racially motivated attack. Toyosi was
Why do they call me a criminal?
Below we reproduce an article by Stuart Crosthwaite of South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group (SYMAAG). Long-standing supporters of SYMAAG and active members of the group will know something about Delshad Zorab from Doncaster/Iraqi Kurdistan. In October 2007, he marched to Lindholme detention centre to demonstrate for ‘Dignity Not Detention’. Last February he was
Border Agency criticised for treatment of children
A new report reveals that the UK Border Agency’s (UKBA) interviews show ‘scant regard’ for the welfare of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The report, entitled Safe at last? Children on the front line of border control, published by Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ), finds that children arriving in Dover, often suffering from illness or injuries, are
Welcome ruling on detained Iraqi Kurds
A ruling in February that the continuing detention of one of the thirty-four Iraqi Kurds deported to Baghdad and refused admission to Iraq was unlawful, should benefit others held for deportation for years with no prospect of speedy return. In October 2009, a charter flight left the UK with forty-four Iraqi deportees on board, bound