No-Deportations - Residence Papers for All

                                                    News & Views - Monday 7th to Sunday 13th May 2012

Keep Bernard Safe in Sheffield
Bernard Mboueyeu fled the Cameroon in 2007 when he was pursued by the authorities for supporting a political group opposed to the brutal ruling regime.

Bernard came to the UK in 2007 and married Sheffield woman, Sharon, a charity worker, in 2010. Sharon and Bernard have set up home in Wincobank and Bernard plays an active role in the local community, supporting local charities.

Despite their marriage, the Home Office have demanded Bernard return to Cameroon to apply for a spouse's visa. Bernard has offered to return if his safety is guaranteed but the Home Office have refused to make that guarantee.

If Bernard returns to Cameroon he could be detained, face torture, or locked up indefinitely and may never return to his wife Sharon in Sheffield.

Amnesty International's 2011 Report noted that the Cameroon regime "continued to restrict the activities of political opponents and journalists" and that "detention conditions remained harsh and often life-threatening".

Please Go to Campaign page here . . . . for Petition
Sharon Mboueyeu: mboueyeualain@live.co.uk


Portugal: Austerity Measures Pose a Serious Threat to Human Rights
"Fiscal austerity measures implemented so far in Portugal have disproportionately affected the human rights of the most vulnerable social groups, especially children, the elderly and Roma. I welcome the government's efforts at cushioning the impact of the financial crisis, notably through the 'social emergency' programme which started to be implemented late last year. Much more and systematic work though is necessary in order to fully protect and respect the social and economic right standards by which Portugal is bound", said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks, upon conclusion of his three-day visit to Lisbon."
Rea more: EU Commissioner for Human Rights, 09/05/12


Immigration update - Deportation of Convicted Foreign Nationals

Jane Coker reviews the latest deportation cases raising article 8 issues

The cases in this appeal concerned two fathers of young British citizen children who resisted deportation under the automatic deportation provisions of section 32 of the UK Borders Act 2007, and one father who was appealing against the refusal to revoke a deportation order made before the automatic deportation provisions came into effect. The panel that heard the appeals considered the impact and scope of ZH Tanzania [2011] UKSC 4, Ruiz Zambrano [2011] ECR 1-0000 8 March 2011 and C-256/11 Murat Dereci and others v Bundesministerum fur Inneres.
Read more: Jane Coker, Solicitors Journal, 8th May 2012

Triple disaster threatens children in Northern Mali
"Children in Northern Mali are no longer on the brink of disaster," says UNICEF Mali Deputy Representative Frederic Sizaret, "Now it is here." Citing recent reports, Sizaret adds: "Far too many are suffering from under nutrition, displacement, many are out of school, and now there are credible reports of grave violations of child rights."

According to UNICEF, more than 300,000 people from the north, half of them children, are now displaced elsewhere in Mali or in neighbouring countries. Meanwhile, the insecurity is hampering the delivery of aid to those who remain. Recent reports say women and girls are being kidnapped and children are being recruited into the armed groups. Landmines on the ground have already killed several children.
Read More: Reliefweb, 08/05/12


State of the World's Mothers 2012
World's worst 10 countries to be a mother? DR Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, Chad, Eritrea, Mali, Guinea-Bissau , Yemen, Afghanistan, Niger

Save the Children's 13th annual Mothers' Index analyzes health, education and economic conditions for women and children in 165 countries. The focus is on the 171 million children globally who do not have the opportunity to reach their full potential due to the physical and mental effects of poor nutrition in the earliest months of life. This report shows which countries are doing the best – and which are doing the worst – at providing nutrition during the critical window of development that starts during a mother's pregnancy and goes through her child's second birthday. It looks at six key nutrition solutions, including breastfeeding, that have the greatest potential to save lives, and shows that these solutions are affordable, even in the world's poorest countries.
Download the full report: http://tinyurl.com/btzok6q


Deported from the UK, killed in Sri Lanka
Reports from Trincomalee confirmed that a Tamil civilian recently refused asylum in the U.K. and deported to Sri Lanka, was found killed on the 18th April. The killing occurred amidst arrests by the Sri Lanka military of more than 300 Tamils in the east, many of whom were refugee returnees from other countries, reports said. Tamil activists say systemic issues such as lack of information on asylum application procedures and sources of funding, a lack of affordable advice in the refugee's own language, combined with out-of-date, biased or inaccurate 'official' country information relied on by immigration officials and judges have resulted in many potentially vulnerable refugees being returned back into the waiting hostile hands of Colombo.
Read more: Tamil Net, 06/05/12


Protest at GEO group Shareholders Meeting
GEO Manage/run Dungavel & Harmondsworth IRCs: Demonstrators opposed to the spread of privately run prisons, including private immigration detention centers, protested Friday outside a shareholders meeting of the GEO Group, the Boca Raton based firm that is one of the largest correctional management companies in the world.

A Catholic priest and nun, representing religious orders that hold small amounts of stock in GEO formerly Wackenhut Corrections Corp. attended the meeting and heard the results for two resolutions they had presented to shareholders. One resolution, filed by the Dominican Sisters of Hope, based in Newburgh, N.Y. and Mercy Investment Services, based in St. Louis, which represents the Sisters of Mercy, would have obligated GEO to improve its policies to prevent human rights abuses. It would also have required the company to agree to a third-party audit of its operations and not just oversight by government agencies.
Read more: Palm Beach Post, 05/05/12


Great news: Ediage Valerie Ekwedde still here
He managed to get the message to the Air France Pilot that because his life was in danger he would be making as much fuss as he could about being on the plane, and the pilot decided not to fly with him out of consideration to the other passengers. Now he has the chance to be seen by a Medical Justice doctor and to work on other evidence for his asylum claim. We shall send out an alert if new removal directions are issued.

Ediage sends his thanks to all who have supported
http://tinyurl.com/cnjxkuu


Kenyan Police and Military Abuses against Ethnic Somalis
The Kenyan security forces have committed widespread human rights abuses against ethnic Somalis with total impunity, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Between November 2011 and March 2012, Kenyan police and soldiers arbitrarily arrested and mistreated Kenyan citizens and Somali refugees in North Eastern province in response to attacks by militants suspected of links to Somalia's Islamist armed movement al-Shabaab.
Human Rights Watch, 04/05/12


Gunmen fire on Nigeria cattle market, 56 dead
Gunmen set off explosives and fired on a cattle market in remote northeastern Nigeria overnight, killing at least 56 people, a nurse who received bodies in the local hospital said on Thursday. A spate of attacks in the past few days, including one against Christians in the north that killed 19 people on Sunday, have dampened hopes that tighter security had significantly reduced the sect's capability. Nigerian forces killed the suspected mastermind of Sunday's attack on Christian worshippers, in a raid in the main northern city of Kano on Tuesday that resulted in a gun battle lasting several hours.
Chicago Tribune, 03/05/12


Theresa May rebuked over illegally deported asylum seeker

Rare court order calls on home secretary to find and bring back Turkish national and investigate UK Border Agency conduct. The Border Agency forcibly removed the man, a Turkish national, from the UK in March despite a court order being issued before he boarded the plane preventing officials from deporting him. His lawyers had argued he should not be removed because he wanted to claim asylum but had not been allowed to do so. After the order was breached, Mr Justice Singh issued a second order to Theresa May to "use her best endeavours" to find the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and bring him back to the UK.
Read More: Diane Taylor, guardian.co.uk, Monday 30 April 2012

Demo in support of Ruhul Anam, 17th-18th May

Ruhul Anam has been in immigration detention for the last 4 years.

The Court of Appeal has already determined that the first 18 months of his detention was unlawful and Ruhul has won the right to argue that his entire detention has been unlawful in the High Court. This hearing will take place on 17th and 18th May and London NoBorders are calling for a demo in solidarity.

We will protest from 9:00 am-11:00 am outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the 17th and 18th May, on the corner of Aldwych/Fleet Sreet, WC2A 2LL.

Please join us!  London No Borders      noborderslondon@riseup.net



Preventing Trafficking in the UK
The Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group's (ATMG) research found that some preventative activities have been implemented across the UK and identified some areas of good practice, in particular at regional and local levels. Good examples were, however, somewhat obscured by the overall lack of a comprehensive prevention strategy. Consequently, prevention seems to be the weakest of the "three P's" - prevention - protection – prosecution - used to frame anti-trafficking work. There appears to be three main reasons for this: a limited understanding of the concept of prevention in the context of trafficking in human beings, the absence of a coherent prevention strategy, and the fragmented coordination of anti-trafficking efforts overall.
Executive Summary here . . .    /    Full report here . . . .


RAPAR here for Another Year
Growing from strength to strength since 2001 - because of YOU - dear Members, Friends and Supporters of RAPAR, please join us for our Annual General Meeting. We will present our annual report. There will also be a presentation about "SERCO" the private company recently contracted by the Government to replace UKBA asylum support services in the North West of the UK.

This meeting will be held on Friday May 18 th in Room 1, Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS, upstairs from our offices.

There will be snacks and hot drinks available. To help us cater please email admin@rapar.org.uk to let us know if you are coming.


Angeline and the Kids - Back in Glasgow Where They Belong
Angeline, Natasha, David & Paula were released from Cedars Family Detention Centre Sunday evening. They spent Sunday night in Gatwick Manor Royal Premier Inn and yesterday travelled back to Glasgow in a Barnardo's minibus.

Angeline would like to give a big thank you to everyone who wrote and faxed on her behalf. Campaign page here . . . .


Asylum seekers should not have to travel to Croydon
Human rights campaigners have called on the Home Office to open more screening centres to stop asylum seekers being forced to travel to Croydon. Refugees who travel to the UK, but do not present themselves on arrival, have to travel to Lunar House, in Wellesley Road, to have their application assessed. Many have little food or money and end up sleeping on the streets in Croydon.

Now a group representing female refugees in Scotland has started an e-petition which calls for screening to be routinely available across the UK. Patricia Zimouini Nganga, of the Refugee Women's Strategy Group, based in Glasgow, said: "When people flee their homes and arrive in this country they are often stressed and confused.

Sign the E-Petition here . . . .

Read more: Croyden Today, Thursday, 3rd May 2012


The Roma of Central Europe "feel fear"
Can Roma ("Gypsies") from "liberal, democratic, EU countries" really be refugees, fleeing persecution? If I were a Roma person living in Central Europe I know I would not feel safe. Last year, while we were filming the documentary Never Come Back, Malcolm Hamilton and I visited Roma enclaves in the Czech Republic and Hungary. A first glance, it seemed to us that those communities were not that different from poor and underserviced First Nations communities in Canada.

But make no mistake about it: The challenge the Central European Roma face is not merely one of poverty, fuelled by well-documented discrimination in housing to employment and education. The far bigger challenge is the constant threat of intimidation and violence from a growing crew of aggressive neo-Nazi and skinheads.
Read more: Karl Nerenberg, TheStar.Com, 05/05/12


Angeline, Natasha, David & Paula - Back at the Cedars
Angeline and children are back at Cedars, after she refused to get on the plane on Friday evening. She is hoping to put in a fresh claim before her next flight is due (possibly Tuesday). We are hoping that Medical Justice will be able to see her before then.
Campaign page here . . . .


Gay refugee avoids deportation from UK to Uganda but remains in high security removal center

Escorts at the UKÕs most secure Border Agency removal centre did not follow through with plans to deport a gay Ugandan asylum seeker today. As previously reported by Gay Star News 41-year-old Felix Wamala had been booked on a Virgin flight back to Uganda toda But escorts at Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre told him that they would put him on the plane as they knew he didnÕt want to go.
Read more: Alex Hopkins, Gay Star News, 4th May 2012


UN 'appalled' by ongoing violations in Israeli prisons
An independent United Nations expert today said he was appalled by the ongoing human rights violations in Israeli prisons amid a wave of hunger strikes by Palestinian prisoners. More than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners began an open-ended hunger strike two weeks ago on 17 April - Palestinian Prisoners Day - to protest against unjust arrest procedures, arbitrary detention and bad prison conditions, according to a news release issued by the UN human rights office (OHCHR). Prison authorities have reportedly taken punitive measures against those on hunger strike, including by denying them family and lawyer visits, confiscating their personal belongings and placing them in solitary confinement, the news release added.
Human Rights Watch, 02/05/12


ARC: Commentary on UKBA April 2012 Sri Lanka OGN
This commentary identifies what the 'Still Human Still Here' coalition considers to be the main inconsistencies and omissions between the currently available country of origin information (COI) and case law on Sri Lanka and the conclusions reached in the April 2012 Sri Lanka Operational Guidance Note (OGN). Where we believe inconsistencies have been identified, the relevant section of the OGN is highlighted in blue.
The report can be downloaded here . . . .

Other available commentaries: Zimbabwe, Jamaica, Occupied Palestinian Territories,Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, OPT, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan can be accessed @:

Best wishes, Stephanie and Liz Consultants
www.asylumresearchconsultancy.com

Last updated 12 May, 2012