NCADC news, 31 January
Daily news round-up from NCADC
Today’s top stories:
- Support Sheree at her bail hearing!
- Update on Brenda Namigadde, lesbian human rights still being ignored
- More on the spending cuts impact on asylum support services
- Greece’s Asylum Crisis Can’t Be Fixed without Reforming Dublin Rules
Support Sheree at her bail hearing!
9.45am, Tuesday 1st February, IAC Hatton Cross
IAC Hatton Cross , York House, 2/3 Dukes Green Avenue, Feltham, Middlesex, TW14 0LS. (20 mins walk from Hatton Cross tube on Piccadilly line, or buses 285 or 90 to Faggs Road bus stop). Travel directions here (pdf)
Sheree Wilson, imprisoned in Holloway for nearly a year since taking part in the hunger strike at Yarl’s Wood, has a bail hearing this Tuesday 1st February at 10am. We aim to meet inside the building outside the court room at 9.45am. Although she will be taking part in the hearing by video link, we want to be there in person to demonstrate to the judge the level of support for her release. Your support is very welcome. If you would like to come to the court to show support or to get involved in the campaign contact freedenisenow@gmail.com.
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MEDIA
Ugandan lesbian’s asylum appeal rejected because she didn’t read gay magazines
PinkNews, 30 January 2011
A lesbian asylum seeker who was granted a last-minute reprieve from deportation to Uganda was denied the right to remain in the UK because she didn’t own magazines or other literature relating to her sexuality, it has been revealed.
And
British judge’s ruling on Brenda Namigadde: ignorant but typical
LGBT Asylum News, Paul Canning, 30 January 2011
The UK political gossip website Political Scrapbook this morning leaked the full judgment rejecting Brenda’s fresh claim to pinknews.co.uk (overturned soon after by an appeal court judge, actually whilst Brenda was on the plane). Political Scrapbook highlights the judge’s point that he was rejecting her in part because she didn’t read lesbian magazines or other media.
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Tears of mum facing Afghanistan deportation battle
Gazette Live, Lindsay Bruce, 29 January 2011
LEADERS in the Teesside Hindu community are appealing for help to keep a mum and her sons in Middlesbrough. Arti Kumar received notice this week that she is no longer eligible to claim support as an asylum seeker and will have to leave her accommodation on February 1 and be deported back to Afghanistan.
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Funding slashed for refugee advice services
Refugee Council, 31 January 2011
Funding for vital advice services for refugees and asylum seekers in the UK will be slashed by over 60% from April 1st 2011. The UKBA is cutting its funding for refugee charities, including the Refugee Council, who today warn of the devastating impact this will have on people seeking saftey in the UK, as well as the wider voluntary sector and society.
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Web of secrets still clouds control orders
Guardian, Saleyha Ahsan, 28 January 2011
Control orders, in their revised form, still deny the right of an accused individual to have a fair trial, to hear the evidence against them in an open court and to be punished appropriately for any crime they have committed. For those labelled as threats to national security based on secret evidence, the limbo continues. This is particularly so for foreign nationals.
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LEGAL
Immigration Bulletin – Issue 215 – 31 January 2011
(Published on Monday, 31 January, 2011)
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EUROPE
Greece’s Asylum Crisis Can’t Be Fixed without Reforming Dublin Rules
Human Rights Watch, Benjamin Ward, 28 January 2011
Friday’s (January 21) powerful ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that Greece is not a safe country of asylum should come as no surprise to immigration ministers in the EU.
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INTERNATIONAL
Human Rights Record goes under the UN magnifying glass
ABC, Sunili Govinnage, 27 January 2011
This week in Geneva, Australia will face a panel of its peers as it lays bare its human rights record as part of the United Nation’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process.
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RESEARCH AND REPORTS
Tony Blair and asylum: The narratives, conceptualisations, restrictionism
Refugee Study Centre, Bethany Maughan, December 2010
Over the last twenty years, there has been a radical shift in public perceptions of and political reactions to asylum seekers in democratic states across the world. As numbers of asylum seekers have risen, at times dramatically, governments of all political persuasions have implemented restrictionist policies designed to prevent and deter individuals from seeking asylum.
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EVENTS
The Case for Legal Aid: an inquiry into public funding and access to justice
When: 2 Feb 2011 – 14:00 – 17:00
Where: Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London SW1
Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers and Young Legal Aid Lawyers are concerned that significant cuts to the legal aid budget will decimate the provision of publicly funded legal services across the country. A panel of inquiry – consisting of Dr Evan Harris, Canon Nicholas Sagovsky and Diana Holland, Assistant General Secretary Unite the Union – will receive testimony from users of legal aid services and those affected by the cuts. The panel will be assisted by Mike Mansfield QC.
Please email lizdavies@riseup.net to reserve seats. For more info check the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers and Young Legal Aid Lawyers
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The need for reinforced protection of rights of migrant women
When: 8 Feb 2011 – 14:00
Where: IOM, 11 Belgrave Road, London SW1V 1RB
Women organizations working with migrants are invited to the upcoming fact-finding visit of Ms Pernille FRAHM, PACE Rapporteur on the protection of migrant women. The visit will be carried out in the context of the preparation of a report on “The need for reinforced protection of rights of migrant women”.
It concentrates on the challenges and difficulties faced by migrant women in the labour market and steps to be taken for their reinforced protection (motion tabled by Mr John Greenway and others, http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc10/EDOC12164.pdf )
For more information please contact Jacqueline Hall at the IOM
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Will legal aid cuts prevent migrants and refugees from accessing justice?
When: 8 Feb 2011 – 10:00 – 12:00
Where: MRCF, 2 Thorpe Close, London W10 5XL
Migrant and Refugee Communities Forum and Migrants’ Rights Network will be responding to the government’s consultation and we are encouraging all migrant and refugee organisations to do the same by sharing your experiences. We are asking you to take part in a forthcoming meeting on legal aid cuts and have your say. read more
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Free Asylum Support Training on the Destitution Test
16th February and 30th March in London
ASAP is running two half-day free training sessions in February and March focusing on how to prove destitution in asylum support applications, particularly in Section 4 cases. The training aims to help advisers make the best possible application for their service users.
Please email marie-anne@asaproject.org.uk if you want to book a place or have any questions
