British universities are being asked to inform Special Branch of the suspicious behaviour of ‘Asian-looking and Muslim’ students. But a court in Germany has already ruled that profiling Arab students, in the name of countering terrorism, is incompatible with the German Constitution. Post-September 11, Germany developed the most extensive systems of religious and racial profiling
Deported asylum seeker condemns Home Office from Iraqi Kurdish hospital
IRR News has been forwarded two letters from Iraqi asylum seekers who were deported last month on a military flight. ‘My name is Burhan Namiq, I was born on 6 March 1980 and am from Kadamfary in Sulaimanyha city, Kurdistan Iraq. I was deported from the UK in September 2006. Since returning to Kurdistan I
Loyal to racism
A new book on Irish racism explains how racial violence in the North cannot be combated without dismantling state racism. Anyone who reads IRR News will be aware of the serious level of racial violence in the North of Ireland. In fact it was Bill Rolston writing for IRR News who first explained how to
Kenny Peter’s inquest points to asylum failures
On 15 September, an inquest found that yet another asylum seeker had taken his life in detention. Unusually, in such cases, in addition to a self-harm verdict, the jury also listed the numerous ways in which the system, supposed to care for vulnerable detainees, had failed to do so. Kenny Peter, a 24-year-old African asylum
After the Swiss referendum
Nearly 70 per cent of those who voted in a referendum in Switzerland on September 24 said yes to reform of immigration and asylum laws. But the committee formed to oppose laws, which, according to UNHCR are amongst the harshest in Europe, has announced that it will build on the support of the 32 per
Asylum and immigration legal advice at risk
A wide-ranging review of all areas of legal aid is currently taking place.[1] As part of this review, the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) has announced proposals to change how publicly-funded immigration and asylum legal advice is provided.[2] The Legal Services Commission (LSC) is running a consultation on these proposals, which ends on 12 October.
Europe’s extremists make electoral gains
Electoral gains for extreme-Right parties in Sweden and Germany are cause for concern for anti-racists in the UK . Increasingly, government policy on issues such as asylum, immigration and the rights of ethnic minorities is being shaped at a European level. With xenophobic and Islamophobic electoral parties now a permanent feature in European politics, no
Conference finds common cause
Over 250 individuals representing more than eighty organisations (listed below) attended the Institute of Race Relations’ one-day conference, Racism, Liberty and the ‘War on Terror’ on Saturday 16 September. Its aim was to unite activists from a broad range of campaigns in an understanding of how racism, imperialism and globalisation interact today. As keynote speaker
Driven to desperate measures
No section of our society is more vulnerable than asylum seekers and undocumented migrants. Forced by circumstances beyond their control to seek a life outside their home countries, prevented by our laws from entering legally and from working, denied a fair hearing by the asylum system, excluded from health and safety protection at work, kept
Racism, Liberty and the War on Terror
Below we reproduce the keynote address to the conference on Racism, Liberty and the War on Terror (held on 16 September at Conway Hall) by A. Sivanandan, director of the Institute of Race Relations. This conference is the end-product of a series of lunchtime seminars held at the IRR, to discuss the impact of anti-terrorist