Unsafe Return is a research report compiled by Catherine Ramos for Justice First, a charity based in Tees Valley in North East England.
The report details the ill-treatment of Congolese asylum seekers who have been refused protection and sent back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
These individuals and families were assured by the Home Office that it was safe for them to return. The report documents cases where men and women have been imprisoned, after arriving at the airport in Kinshasa and physically and sexually abused during their imprisonment.
Among the reports conclusions are that decisions since 2006 refusing protection to Congolese asylum seekers have been flawed and, consequently, have resulted in people being unjustly removed back to inhuman and degrading treatment, and that the UKBA hypothesis that it is safe to return people to the DRC is unsound.
The report recommends that until there is a review of the policy that it is safe to return people to the DRC, no further removals should be carried out.
Download the report here (pdf)
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