Around the Campaigns Friday 25th June 2010
Refugee and Migrant Justice update
Refugee and Migrant Justice have closed their doors, after rescue plan fails!
[ If you were a client of Refugee & Migrant Justice and have not been able to contact/been contacted by RMJ , please Email JohnO@freemovement.org.uk with full details]
Asylum-seeker clients of Refugee and Migrant Justice are taking the Justice and Home Secretaries to court to try to force the government to stump up close to £1m to cover the costs of transferring their legal cases to other lawyers.
Home Secretary and Justice Secretary in High Court over refugee charity collapse. The case opened in London's High Court on Tuesday, with the charity's clients seeking judicial review of the Legal Services Commission's decision to terminate the charity's contract and not provide sufficient funding to enable it to continue operating. They also say the Home Secretary should have undertaken not to reject any asylum applications or deport anyone until adequate alternative legal representation is secured.
Full story, Civil Society
NCADC Campaign alert for Saman Akbarirad
Saman Akbarirad is being held at Harmondsworth and is scheduled to be forcibly removed to Germany Monday, 28 June at 7:30am on British Airways flight BA 902 from Heathrow. From Germany a deportation to Iran is imminent. Saman fled Iran after being imprisoned and tortured for political activities. He escaped to Germany where his asylum case was refused and then moved to the UK where has has lived since 2004. Now, the UK has also refused his asylum case. Because of the danger he will face if forcibly removed to Iran, he is experiencing severe mental health problems and is self harming. Join Saman and campaign against his deportation on Monday!
Full details/what you can do:
http://www.ncadc.org.uk/campaigns/Saman_Akbarirad.html
Child detention review: the challenge for NGOs
The decision as to whether to participate in the review places many voluntary sector organisations in an acute dilemma: how far should they co-operate with the government in finding alternatives to detention whose object is to ensure the removal of the families concerned? How should the voluntary sector respond to the government's review of children's detention?
Full article: Frances Webber, IRR, 24 June 2010
EDM 299: Detention Of Children In Turkey
That this House deplores the Turkish government's policy of detaining children under counter-terrorism laws; notes that around 4,000 Kurdish children are held in prison charged with such offences; expresses its concern that some children and youths face inappropriate sentences for offences such as attending demonstrations; further notes that lawyers defending these cases have condemned the quality of evidence being used to bring such cases to court; understands that many Turkish and international children's and human rights groups are of the opinion that the number of minors affected by Turkey's counter-terrorism legislation is increasing; believes that such prosecutions need to be brought to a halt
http://tinyurl.com/EDM-299
The clothes on your back, cause riots in Bangladesh
Tens of thousands of workers who are said to make clothes for several high street chains including Marks & Spencer, Zara and H&M clashed with armed police in Bangladesh yesterday, as protests for higher pay turned into violent riots.
Full story, Asia Times:
Iran: Human Rights
Mr Bellingham: We believe that the human rights situation in Iran is deplorable, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office continues to take opportunities to raise human rights with the Government of Iran in both a bilateral context, and with EU partners. In Geneva this month, the Human Rights Council adopted Iran's Universal Periodic Review, at which the UK made a series of statements about our concerns and made recommendations to Iran to improve the human rights situation. The UK also signed up to a cross-regional statement by Norway and signed by 55 other states calling on Iran to improve urgently its human rights record.
House of Commons / 24 Jun 2010 : Column 343W
End of Bulletin:
Source for this Message:
House of Commons
Asia Times
IRR
NCADC
Civil Society |