Zambrano - the Home Office shows its hand

'As predicted, the Court of Justice's ruling in Zambrano has opened up a new chapter for immigration law in the UK with new opportunities for family members of British Citizens to claim a right to live and work in the UK.'   Ed Mynott/Latitude Law

UKBA have at last made public how they will deal with applications to remain in the UK, citing Ruiz Zambrano (C-34/09).

Part 1 is the statement from UKBA

Part 2 is a commentary on the statement by Ed Mynott of Latitude Law

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'Freemovement' Would like to thank Ed Mynott and Latitude Law for their kind permission to reproduce 'Zambrano - the Home Office shows its hand'.

1 ) Judgement on carers of British Citizens

2) Zambrano - the Home Office shows its hand

UKBA recognises that 'this judgment determined that national measures which have the effect of depriving a Union citizen of the genuine enjoyment of the substance of his or her rights as a Union citizen are precluded.' Yet for the past six months those applying to UKBA on the sole basis of the Zambrano judgement were having their applications returned as invalid. The stated justification was that there was no provision to issue documentation under the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006. This was unsurprising as the Regulations were intended to give effect to free movement rights for European Economic Area nationals and their family members, whereas the CJEU in Zambrano founded its decision on EU citizenship which the Court reminded us 'is intended to be the fundamental status of nationals of the Member States.' Nonetheless UKBA's initial response was transparently a holding one because the UK must give effect to EU law.   
Read the full articlle here . . . .

Liberty recruiting human rights advice line volunteers
Liberty, the human rights advocacy organisation, is currently recruiting for trainees, pupils, solicitors and barristers to volunteer on its evening Advice Line.

The Advice Line runs on Mondays and Thursday 6:30pm – 8:30pm and gives advice to members of the public on human rights and civil liberties (members of the public can call on 0845 123 2307 or 020 3145 0461).

For further information contact Laura Milne (LauraM@liberty-human-rights.org.uk). I volunteered at the Advice Line for a year during my pupillage (training) and it was a great experience. It is a perfect way to learn more about human rights law, meet interesting lawyers of all levels of seniority and help people with interesting problems for whom Liberty is usually the last resort. You will also get to see Liberty's flash new offices!
Adam Wagner, UK Human Rights Blog, September 21st 2011

Impunity rules during Zimbabwe's "transition"
- Earlier this month Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe was telling MPs in parliament - to loud cheers from both side of the house - that there would be "zero tolerance" of political violence, while on the steps of the building, supporters of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) were being severely beaten by Mugabe supporters, as police stood by.

About 11 MDC supporters needed hospitalization, including MDC councillor Victor Zifodya who sustained head injuries. "The police know that ZANU-PF supporters are behind this but they appear to be afraid to arrest them," MDC youth spokesperson Maxwell Katsande told IRIN.

Tadiwa Choto, a victim of political violence during the 2008 elections, told IRIN if ZANU-PF can engage in violence while Mugabe addresses parliament, it illustrates "either they don't listen to him [Mugabe] any more or that he is aware of these acts of violence while saying the right things in order to please SADC [Southern African Development Community]."
IRIN, 20 September 2011 (IRIN)

Sri Lanka Post-War - Risk of return to violence growing
More than two years after the end of Sri Lanka's civil war, the political situation in the country remains deeply worrying. The unique opportunity the government has to build a lasting and just peace after the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is being lost.The government has not taken credible steps to ensure accountability for the grave allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity identified in the April 2011 report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka. Nor has the government pursued policies to reconcile the country's ethnic communities after decades of political violence and conflict. Instead, its post-war agenda has been to further centralise power, expand the role of the military, undermine local civilian authorities, and politicise the institutions that should uphold the rule of law and combat impunity. As argued in Crisis Group's most recent report, the risk of an eventual return to violence is growing again.
International Crisis Group

Early day motion 2189: Human Rights Abuses In Jammu And Kashmir
That this House notes with concern the reports of human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir; believes that a key element in working towards the resolution of the Kashmir issue is the cessation of human rights abuses; and calls on the Government to use its influence with the United Nations to encourage an internationalinvestigation into the human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir.
Primary sponsor: John Hemming, Date tabled: 15/09/2011

Asylum seekers protest at Morton Hall IRC ends
A hunger strike by 18 Afghani asylum seekers in Lincolnshire has ended, a Ministry of Justice spokesman has said. The men started their hunger strike on Friday at Morton Hall immigration centre near Lincoln over concerns that they would be sent back to Afghanistan.

One of the hunger strikers, Mohammad Nadi Mengal, told the BBC on Saturday that he was still refusing to eat, but he was not available for comment on Sunday.
BBC News, 18 September 2011

English language training for job seekers on benefits
The Government has announced that jobseekers whose lack of English is preventing them from getting a job, will be required to attend English language training or face losing their benefits. Prime Minister David Cameron made the announcement during a visit to the A4e (Action for Employment) offices in Brixton where he met Work Programme participants and advisers.

Under new rules coming into force Jobcentre Plus advisers can mandate people onto training courses if they believe they lack the correct skills to get the jobs on offer in the local labour market. People with poor English skills, which are preventing them from getting into employment, will be referred onto free specialist English language training courses.
Prime Ministers Office, Tuesday 13 September 2011

Trouble in Harmondsworth IRC Monday evening

Statement from detainee

Spoke to a detainee that witnessed some of what went on, he said that on Monday an Afghan man that appeared to be a leader was protesting about being sent back because he had lived in this country for 12 years and had partner and children living in Sheffield,

He said a number of guards started beating him up and the man was screaming when he come out of the room he was covered in blood bleeding from the mouth and nose, when the other Afghan nationals saw this they were very angry and started smashing up the place, police and 5 dogs were brought in.

Flight appears to have got cancelled but they were taken yesterday Tuesday.

He said the man was badly injured but they put him on the flight, three were brought back and they in solitary confinement and no one can get to them their phones get taken away he also said all in all in Harmondsworth there were 56 Afghans.  

Charter Flight to Sri Lanka - Scheduled for Wednesday 28th September

A.A. v. the United Kingdom (no. 8000/08)

Criminal conviction carries no weight against right to family life, rules Strasbourg

The Strasbourg Court has ruled unlawful the deportation of a Nigerian man convicted of rape. Considering the facts of his case afresh, the Court came to the conclusion that the 24 year old student's right to family life would be violated if he were removed to Nigeria.
Rosalind English, UK Human Rights Blog, 21/09/11

Child asylum-seekers should stay in Britain, says Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson has criticised Government policy towards child asylum seekers, many of whom are offered years of protection before being deported as soon as they turn 18.

The actress, who "informally adopted" 24-year-old Rwandan refugee Tindyebwa Agaba in 2003 and legally sponsored his successful battle to stay in Britain, has spoken out against officials' treatment of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, who become easier to deport as soon as they become adults.

"It is current British policy to send back lone child refugees as soon as they turn 18 to the war zones from which they fled," Thompson said. "But no one has any idea what then happens to these kids, who've adapted to British life."
Rob Sharp, The Indpendent, Monday, 19 September 2011

Somalia has the world's highest child mortality rate
Stricken by chronic conflict and recurring drought for decades, Somalia now has the world's highest mortality rate for children under the age of five, according to the latest data released by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. Somalia's child mortality rate in 2010, stood at 180 deaths per 1,000 live births which now ranks worst in the world.
Reliefweb, 16/09/11

Assertiveness without content - that's the 9/11 decade in a nutshell
This political decade already has a distinctive personality. If nothing else, it will have been a transitional decade. There has been, for a long time, a debilitating institutional fatigue. International organizations, from the United Nations to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, are receding in visibility and influence as regional and multinational organizations - whether the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Arab League or the G20 - emerge sporadically to occupy centre stage.

Bureaucracies are tired and uninspired, which is not surprising since the decade has also yielded a desert of personal leadership.

Presidential regimes, particularly in Africa but also in Afghanistan and in Venezuela, for example, favour the personalization of power and encourage personality cults and cronyism; the overall mediocrity of leadership is stunning. This was made strikingly apparent at the two extremes: The overwhelming repudiation of the likes of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, Hosni Mubarak, Moammar Gadhafi and Ali Abdullah Saleh said a lot about them personally, just as the political glow of Barack Obama during his presidential campaign spoke as much about him as about his message.

But more than anything else, the millennium that started with Sept. 11 is, so far, one of assertiveness without content. Osama bin Laden never made clear what kind of caliphate he wished to install in Manhattan, let alone worldwide. Even the Arab Spring, perhaps the loudest political outcry of the decade, has yet to convey a coherent vision of its future.

It is as though ideas have been the unintended casualties of the receding relevance of political ideology. In democratic systems, policies are dictated by opinion polls and electoral prospects. In authoritarian ones, the survival techniques are different, but the objective is the same.
Louise Arbour, International Crisis Group

Early Day Motion 2173: Human Rights in Iraqi Kurdistan
That this House is concerned at the violations of press freedom in Iraqi Kurdistan, particularly the case of Sardasht Osman, the university student and journalist, who after criticising the Kurdish government was kidnapped and murdered on 5 May 2009; notes with regret that the major demonstrations held in February to April 2011 protesting at the lack of freedom and social justice were suppressed aggressively by the Kurdistan regional government, with 10 people killed and many others injured; and calls on the UK Government to urge the Kurdistan regional government to establish an independent commission of inquiry into the murder of Sardasht Osman and to respect the right of its citizens to freedom of expression and political activity.
Primary sponsor: John McDonnell, date tabled: 13/09/2011