Tourism Concern, an organisation that campaigns to reduce the social and environmental damage that is often done by tourism in poorer countries, has launched a survey of British Black and Minority Ethnic communities to gauge their experiences as tourists. The survey’s aim is to begin a debate on tourism’s impact among people whose ancestry is
‘Anti-terrorism’ policing leads to arbitrary use of stop and search
From today, the police will have a host of new powers to stop, search and detain suspects. Is the post-Macpherson concept of ‘intelligence-led’ policing giving way to abuses in the name of ‘anti-terrorism’? The Home Office claims that new powers coming into effect today, under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, are necessary in the fight
Yarl’s Wood update: officer sacked
A security officer at Yarl’s Wood detention centre has been sacked following revelations of racist bullying, exposed by an undercover reporter in December 2003. Following an investigation by the Daily Mirror last year, which documented racist language, a culture of violence in training sessions and staff boasting of their brutal treatment of detainees, three security
Anti-foreigner politics make for extreme-Right gains across Europe
The IRR has been following the fortunes of extreme-Right and anti-immigration parties in elections across Europe from September 2003-January 2004. In the last five months, the anti-immigration Swiss People’s Party (SPP) has received a massive boost and polls predict significant gains for anti-immigration parties in Denmark and Norway. Far-right political parties in the UK and
Call for greater ethnic minority and immigrant participation in Irish politics
A new report from the Africa Solidarity Centre in Dublin highlights the exclusion of immigrants and ethnic minorities from Irish political parties. Based on research conducted by Dr. Bryan Fanning of University College, Dublin, Fidèle Mutwarasibo and Neltah Chadamoyo, the report published this week reveals that none of the political parties in Ireland have any
Close surveillance of Campsfield protest
On Saturday 29 November, over 200 people from all over the country gathered for a demonstration outside Campsfield House Immigration Detention Centre, the scene of frequent protests, hunger strikes and a riot, to mark its 10th anniversary. Unusually, the demonstration was very heavily policed. The coach taking participants from London was stopped just outside Campsfield
Rising deaths as a result of racial violence
Research by the Institute of Race Relations shows that since the beginning of 1999, at least thirty-five murders with a racial element were committed in England, Wales and Scotland. This figure, when compared with the four years 1994 – 1998, when thirteen murders with a racial element were committed, shows an alarming rise. For, the
Netherlands: anti-immigration and the road to intolerance
Dutch Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner has this week advocated the idea of a two-tier justice system in which foreigners who commit crime would be sentenced differently from Dutch nationals. How has a country which once had a reputation for tolerance descended to such illiberalism? During the second half of 2004, the Dutch government will
Concern at new asylum measures
Refugee groups and lawyers believe that the new Asylum Bill will result in profound changes in the legal and constitutional landscape of Britain as well as stripping asylum seekers of further legal and social rights. The Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill is the fifth asylum Bill in eleven years and Labour’s third
Analysis: the quarterly asylum statistics
Ministers have trumpeted the quarterly asylum statistics as evidence that their tough policies are working. Do the figures prove their case? And what is the impact on asylum seekers? The quarterly publication of asylum seeker statistics has become a major political event, particularly since the government, earlier this year, set a target of halving the