In poverty you may still preserve the nobility of your inborn feelings, but in destitution no one ever does. For destitution, one does not even get driven out of human company with a stick; one is swept out with the broom.
Fyodor Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment
Early Day Motion 1019: Asylum Support Rates
That this House believes that Britain can rightly be proud of its history of welcoming those fleeing persecution and war; welcomes the cross-party parliamentary report on asylum support for children and families; notes with concern the finding of that report that current asylum support levels are leaving up to 10,000 children destitute or in severe poverty; further believes that section 4 support rates are especially austere and that cash less payments impose damaging restrictions on how families buy essential items; further notes that asylum support rates have not been increased since April 2011; regrets that the previous Government broke the historic link between support rates for asylum seekers and income support; calls on the Government to increase asylum support rates so that they are at least equal to 70 per cent of income support and to up-rate support rates annually; and further calls on the Government to abolish section 4 support and implement a single cash-based support system.
Sponsors: Teather, Sarah/ Bottomley, Peter / Corbyn, Jeremy / Dobbin, Jim/ Durkan, Mark / Sharma, Virendra House of Commons: 05/02/2013
Put your MP to work demand they sign EDM 1019
You can contact your MP for free, through: WriteToThem.Com
http://www.writetothem.com/
Deportation: Syria (UKBA extensions of leave)
As a result of the exceptional situation the UK Border Agency has allowed Syrian students in the UK to extend the period of their visas or switch visa route where the immigration rules would have otherwise prevented them from doing so.
House of Commons / 4 Feb 2013 : Column 23W
Asylum Research Consultancy COI Update Volume 50
This document provides an update of Country Guidance case law and UKBA publications and developments in refugee producing countries between
20/01/2013 and 05/02/2013 - Volume 50 here . . .
Critique of New Immigration Rules' Codification of Article 8
The Upper Tribunal has concluded that new Immigration Rules do not adequately reflect the Secretary of State's obligations under Article 8 of the ECHR.
This is the second determination of the "fit" between the immigration rules, introduced last year, and the UK's obligations under Article 8 of the Convention.
UK Human Rights blog, 04/02/13
Refugee Board of Canada - Situation of Ahmadis in Pakistan
The situation of Ahmadis, including legal status and rights with regards to political participation, education, and employment; societal and governmental attitudes toward Ahmadis (2009-December 2012)
Read the full article published on Refworld, 04/02/13
Prisoners: Foreign Nationals (Detained beyond sentence)
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2013, Official Report, column 245W, on prisoners: foreign nationals, (1) how many foreign national offenders were detained beyond the end of their custodial sentences and (a) subsequently deported and (b) remain in the UK; [137373]
(2) how many foreign national offenders were detained beyond the end of their custodial sentences throughout (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012. [137374]
Mr Harper [holding answer 15 January 2013]:The following table shows a further breakdown of the number of foreign national offenders detained by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) at the end of their custodial sentence as at April 2010, April 2011 and April 2012. It shows the number of foreign national offenders subsequently removed or deported and those that currently remain in the UK.
Read more: 4 Feb 2013 : Column 30W
Continuing Conflicts that Create Refugees - January 2013
7 actual or potential conflict situations around the world deteriorated and 2 improved in January 2013, according to the new issue of CrisisWatch
Deteriorated Situations: Egypt, Iraq, Kashmir, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, North Korea, Sri Lanka
Download CrisisWatch N°114
Mali: France launched a military operation to oust the coalition of rebel Islamist groups that has controlled the north of the country for the past year and who in December suddenly began advancing further south. Combined French and Malian forces swiftly recaptured the main northern towns from the rebels, and moved on their last stronghold, Kidal, at the end of the month, raising hopes that the region will swiftly return to government control. Military advances have, however, also prompted fears of further destabilisation, abuses of the civilian population, especially ethnic Tuaregs, by the Malian armed forces, a spillover into neighbouring states, and a backlash from extremists. The military approach also risks diverting attention from the fragile political process in Bamako, where deep divisions and the potential for further military meddling raise questions about the ability of Mali's leaders to secure the transition and adequately address northern grievances.
Egypt: the second anniversary of the revolution and a court ruling on football violence in Port Said stadium last year ignited days of violent demonstrations and unrest across major cities which left dozens dead. President Mohamed Morsi declared a state of emergency and curfew in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez. As a senior military official warned that the state verged on collapse, rival political groups met on 31 January, pledging to support a serious dialogue and condemning violence. Protests are expected to continue in February.
Iraq: demonstrations against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, sparked by the arrest in December of Sunni Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi, gathered pace, threatening political stability. What initially looked like a confrontation between Sunni political leaders and a Shia-led government soon escalated into a broader campaign against al-Maliki, as Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr and personalities associated with the highest Shiite religious authority, the Marjaiya, threw their weight behind the opposition. On 26 January, Sunni, Kurdish and Shiite lawmakers voted to block al-Maliki from seeking a third term, but al-Maliki's supporters have rejected the law as illegal.
Myanmar's: government stepped up its military campaign against the Kachin Independence Organisation. Government troops advanced on the ethnic rebel group's headquarters in Laiza close to the Chinese border, as fighter jets bombed Kachin rebel positions. The U.S., UK and other international actors expressed concern over civilian casualties and displacement and the potential impact of the campaign on efforts to deepen Myanmar's reforms and national reconciliation.
Venezuela: President Hugo Chávez's ill health kept him away from the swearing-in ceremony for his third term as president on 10 January. The opposition is now challenging Chávez's continued tenure in office as unconstitutional. Amid signs that both sides are radicalising, Crisis Group identifies a conflict risk alert for February.
Guatemala: a court order requiring ex-military leader and former President Efraín Rios Montt to stand trial for genocide raised hopes of advances in the country's battle against impunity. Montt, who denies the charges, stands accused of orchestrating the massacre of 1,771 indigenous people during the 36-year civil war that left an estimated 200,000 dead and more than 1.5 million displaced.
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo_an revealed in December that the national intelligence agency had started a new round of talks with Abdullah Öcalan, jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The talks, which enjoy wide political support, may offer a genuine opportunity to end Turkey's long-standing Kurdish conflict. Confidence in the process, which is also supported by the opposition and Kurdish opinion leaders, was further buoyed in January as the government was seen to be acting more publicly and inclusively, allowing representatives from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party and the head of the largest pro-Kurdish civil society organization to pay a rare visit to Öcalan. In the meeting, Öcalan reportedly said the era of armed was struggle over.
Elsewhere, Sri Lanka parliament's impeached the Supreme Court Chief Justice, marking a further disregard for the rule of law and prompting protests and international condemnation. Tensions escalated between Pakistan and India after soldiers from both countries were killed in cross-border incursions across the Line of Control that divides Kashmir. North Korea announced plans to carry out further rocket launches and a nuclear test in response to the UN Security Council's resolution condemning its December rocket launch and expanding existing sanctions. Relations between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan were strained by a violent confrontation between Kyrgyz citizens and residents of Uzbekistan's largest exclave in south Kyrgyzstan.
Unchanged Situations: Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Bosnia, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China/Japan, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India (non-Kashmir), Indonesia, Iran, Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan), Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Caucasus (Russia), Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Philippines, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Somalia, Somaliland, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Turkmenistan , Uganda, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zimbabwe
Improved Situations: Guatemala
February 2013 Outlook
Conflict Risk Alert: Egypt, Mali, Venezuela
Conflict Resolution Opportunity: Mali, Turkey
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Women's Asylum News: Issue No. 115, January/ February 2013
Leading Article: Claiming Asylum on the Basis of Your Sexuality: The Views of Lesbians in the UK. Legal Issues, Sector Update, National News: Download here . . . .
Asylum Research Consultancy (ARC) COI Update Volume 50
This document provides an update of Country Guidance case law and UKBA publications and developments in refugee producing countries between
20/01/2013 and 05/02/2013 - Volume 50 here . . .
Hazara Community (Pakistan)
Persecution of the Hazara community by Afghan rulers started, I am afraid, under the British Empire, and it has been a consistent problem in Afghanistan ever since. Many Hazaras have left Afghanistan, and over 100 years ago many settled in and around Quetta, which in due course became part of Pakistan. We are all familiar with the recent waves of refugees from Afghanistan to Pakistan, some of whom have eventually made their way here, where they have sought and been granted asylum.
However, the Hazaras that I am talking about today are part of that much longer-established community in Quetta who are not refugees but Pakistani citizens. For a long time, they lived free from persecution in Quetta, thriving educationally and economically. As citizens, they are entitled to full support from the Pakistani state. Since the late 1990s, however, their situation has changed dramatically. The killings started in 1999. Since then, more than 1,000 Hazaras have been killed in Quetta, 3,000 or more have been injured, and 55,000 or so have been forced to flee to Europe or Australia. All of those came from a population of between 500,000 and 600,000.
The perpetrators are a banned Sunni militant al-Qaeda-affiliated group called Lashkar-e-Jhangvi—the LEJ. The Taliban and the LEJ have both issued fatwas against the Hazaras. After the recent violence, an LEJ spokesman was reported as saying that the Hazaras had been warned in 2012 that they should leave Balochistan, the province in which Quetta sits, and that as many had not done so, the LEJ will not allow Shi'as to leave alive in 2013.
Read more: House of Commons / 4 Feb 2013 : Column 85
Garden Court Chambers - Immigration Law Bulletin - Issue 310
Failed Asylum Seekers / Vulnerable Migrants Access to Primary Care
Despite clear statement from the Department of Health [1] and the other bodies [2], there is still considerable misunderstanding at a local level who is eligible to register with a General Practitioner.
General Practice should remain the main access to health care within the NHS. Based on the principle that General Practitioners have a duty of care to all people seeking healthcare, the Royal College of General Practitioners believes that General Practitioners should not be expected to police access to healthcare and turn people away when they are at their most vulnerable. [3] Further, it is important to protect individual and public health. [4] All vulnerable migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, have the right to be fully registered with a NHS general practice. In fact the Department of Health's Table of Entitlement to NHS Treatment [5] states that asylum seekers are entitled to NHS primary medical services without charge. Note that General Practitioners have the discretion to register refused asylum seekers, to the same extent that they have this discretion to registering any patient, irrespective of residency status - unless the list is full or the person resides outside the practice boundary.
Read more: Royal College of General Practitioners (Updated January 2013)
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Healthcare: Immigrants [ poor health outcomes ]
Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to improve access to healthcare for immigrants.[HL4766]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): Anyone can register with a general practitioner for free primary health care. National Health Service hospital treatment is free to anyone who is living in the United Kingdom on a lawful and properly settled basis or who is otherwise exempt from charges under Regulations, such as refugees, asylum seekers and victims of human trafficking.
We are taking steps to address the poor health outcomes experienced by vulnerable migrants and the difficulties that they, and other vulnerable groups, face in accessing some health services. We have developed an inclusion health programme, through which we are working with other government departments, the NHS and the third sector to tackle the poor health of people in vulnerable groups and to ensure everyone gets the care they need, regardless of their needs or circumstances.
House of Lords / 1 Feb 2013 : Column WA367
More Women Forced Into Slavery After Change To Immigration Law
The number of women suspected of being trafficked to perform housework in embassies and private houses in Britain has increased amid warnings that vulnerable workers have been denied an escape route from domestic servitude by new immigration rules.
The rise in domestic servitude comes amid a 25 per cent increase in the number of trafficking victims reported in 2012 to the national referral mechanism. The authorities say the increase to nearly 1,200 people could be attributable to both better detection of trafficking rings and an increase in the crime.
Read more: Paul Peachey, Indpendent, Sunday 03 February 2013
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