Returning a Refugee to Persecution Must be a Last Resort
An Iranian refugee who, according to MI5, holds an Islamist extremist mindset and is supportive of ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), has won his appeal against revocation of his refugee status.
If the Home Office decides to revoke a person’s refugee status, there is a right of appeal to the Tribunal. Where the Home Secretary certifies that the decision was taken wholly or partly in the interests of national security, the appeal is heard by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) instead.
This is what happened to the appellant in D8 (Exclusion: Substantive) [2023] UKSIAC 1.
Read more: Freemovement, https://tinyurl.com/35tbv48h
India and Georgia to be Added to the List of ‘Safe’ Countries?
Draft regulations have been laid which will add India and Georgia to the list of ‘safe’ countries at section 80AA of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (Amendment to List of Safe States) Regulations 2024 need to be voted through by both Houses of Parliament and it appears that the expectation is that will happen next year.
The section 80AA list of ‘safe’ countries was introduced by section 59 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 and was brought partly into force on 28 September 2023, for the purpose of making regulations. There was speculation at the time that the reason for that was so that the list of ‘safe’ countries could be expanded, and now we see that was correct. Presumably the rest of section 59 (including the ‘safe’ list and changes to section 80A of the 2002 Act) will be brought fully into force once these regulations have been approved by parliament.
Read more: Freemovement, https://tinyurl.com/yvaw8hd9
'Israeli Settlers' Violence Against Palestinians Rises in the West Bank
With all eyes on Gaza, the West Bank is at its most combustible. 'Israeli Settlers' have taken advantage of the situation by stepping up the abuse of Palestinians in a calculated effort to seize control of more land. Field researchers with the Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem, who have been monitoring the issue closely for years, warn that the 'Israeli Settlers' have freer rein from the state than ever before: "Events on the ground indicate that under cover of war, 'Israeli Settlers' are carrying out such assaults virtually unchecked, with no one trying to stop them before, during or after the fact".
What does the Term "Israeli Settler Violence" Refer to?
"SettlDr Violence" is a catch-all phrase for the various ways in which Israeli citizens living in the occupied West Bank terrorise and harm Palestinians. Such acts range from trespassing, blocking roads or access to land and water sources to setting cars, homes or other property on fire, stealing livestock, burning or cutting down olive trees, throwing stones, and vandalising churches and mosques, as well as various forms of physical and verbal harassment and intimidation. In several cases, 'Israeli Settlers' have used live fire to kill and injure Palestinians. "Israeli Settler Violence" has been on the rise over the past decade, increasing steadily every year. It has escalated significantly since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government took office in December 2022, and it is doing so again in the aftermath of the Hamas attack.
What is the Extent of "Israeli Settler Violence" and its Impact?
In the first half of 2023, 'Israeli Settlers' carried out 591 attacks in the occupied West Bank, an average of 95 per month or about three per day. The monthly average represents a 39 per cent increase over the same measure in 2022, according to the UN, and 2023 is the sixth consecutive year in which the total number has increased. The record pace of attacks has risen again after 7 October to an unprecedented seven per day. In nearly half of all incidents, according to the UN, Israeli forces were either accompanying or actively supporting the attackers.
Read more: Mairav Zonszein, Crisis Group, https://tinyurl.com/43bxvhdr
As Gaza Burns, Other Countries Quietly, Illegally Dumping Refugees
Pakistan, the Interior Ministry announced on Oct. 3 that all unregistered Afghans, including many who have lived there for years, had to leave the country by Nov. 1. Broad calls by Pakistani officials for mass deportation coincided with an increase in harassment, assault, and arbitrary detention of Afghans. The deadline for “voluntary” return having passed last week, Pakistani police are now going house to house, rounding up Afghans and beginning to deport them in the thousands. About 1.7 million Afghans live in Pakistan without legal status, in addition to some 1.3 million registered Afghan refugees. Although many of the unregistered fled after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, they are not recognized as refugees for the simple reason that they have not been allowed to register.
Turkey, on multiple occasions, President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has expressed his desire to resettle more than a million Syrian refugees into a Turkish-occupied so-called “safe zone” in northern Syria. As Human Rights Watch has found, this area is far from safe, and returns to these and other parts of Syria remain dangerous to refugees who fled the conflict there. Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees of any country, but it is currently deporting large numbers of Afghans and Syrians and violently pushing back asylum seekers and migrants on its borders with Syria and Iran.
Dominican Republic, the authorities closed the border with Haiti on Sept. 14 in a dispute over the construction of a canal, although there are many indications that the dispute is wider than water resources. Prior to the border closure, the Dominican Republic had been constructing a 118-mile wall on the border. It has increased expulsion of Haitians, surpassing 97,000 since the beginning of the year, as Haiti has experienced a dramatic escalation in killings, rapes and kidnappings.
Lebanon, host to the largest number of refugees per capita of any country in the world, the government has in recent months targeted thousands of Syrians who lack legal status for deportation. We have found that many of those previously returned experienced detention, torture, and forced conscription. Lebanon has banned the UN refugee agency from registering Syrian refugees, and currently only 17 percent of Syrian refugees hold legal residency.
Read more: Bill Frelick, Human Rights Watch, https://tinyurl.com/cpxbj7n9
Afghan Refugee Wins Substantial Damages From Home Secretary For Destitution
The Home Secretary has paid Sayed Rahimi £10,000 in damages, concluding his claim against her for breaches of EU law and the Human Rights Act after she left him destitute for two months.
Mr Rahimi was at the time an Afghan asylum seeker, who had made a fresh asylum claim. (She subsequently granted him Humanitarian Protection and then finally recognised him as a refugee in March 2022.)
The Home Secretary had agreed to support him in December 2019 while his fresh claim was considered. However, she said that he did not attend to be transported to the accommodation by her contractors and that she had no further duties. The claimant maintained that he had never been informed that his travel had been arranged, and his efforts to arrange alternative accommodation were ignored.
Ultimately, after consideration of submissions from the parties, the Administrative Court (HHJ Coe QC) ruled in favour of the claimant on 19 May 2022, and ordered that the claim be transferred to the CLCC for determination of liability and damages, instead of being dismissed as academic, and ordered costs against the Home Secretary.
Read more: Doughty Street Chambers, https://tinyurl.com/29rdxkcr
Chequered History of Britain’s Wartime Refugees
Britain has a proud history of welcoming refugees. It also has a shameful history of hostility to refugees. Often exactly the same refugees at the same time. As with all real life and real history — as opposed to more transparently ideologically driven accounts — it is a complex story. Paul Dowswell’s new book, Aliens: A Chequered History of Britain’s Wartime Refugees, does an excellent job of recounting in a balanced way some aspects of British history that many would rather forget.
Parallels with contemporary reactions to refugees are unavoidable. Dowswell makes this explicit in his conclusion. But any reader will make the connection themselves as they read extracts from Daily Mail articles from the 1920s and 1930s conflating migrants with criminals and statements by prominent politicians that inflate the numbers of refugees and boldly state they all want to come to Britain.
Read more: Freemovement, https://tinyurl.com/mrf82nbe
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EDM 50: Persecution Faced by Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan
That this House is deeply concerned by the ongoing attacks, discrimination and persecution faced by Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan;
recognises that these communities are integral members of the Pakistani society and have made significant contributions to its culture, history, and economy;
notes with concern the rising incidents of forced conversions
, kidnappings, property confiscations and violence against Hindus, Sikhs, Ahmadis and Christians, which infringe on their fundamental rights to freedom of religion, belief and security;
condemns any form of religious intolerance and violence;
urges the Government of Pakistan to uphold its international obligations to protect the rights of all religious minorities within its borders;
calls on the Government of Pakistan to intensify efforts to ensure the safety, security, and well-being of its religious minority communities;
calls on the UK Government to engage with the c
ounterparts in Pakistan on these issues to strengthen human rights monitoring in the region.
Tabled 13 November 2023, Jim Shannon MP, https://tinyurl.com/mrxjzcav
Put Your MP to Work – Ask Them to Sign EDM 50
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CoA Dismiss Government Appeal Access to Benefits for People With Pre Settled Status
The Court of Appeal has dismissed the government’s appeal in Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v AT (AIRE Centre and Independent Monitoring Authority intervening) [2023] EWCA Civ 1307, meaning that people with pre settled status under Appendix EU are able to access universal credit in circumstances where they do not also have a qualifying EU right to reside. We covered the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber)’s decision which was under appeal here.
The Secretary of State argued that the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union does not apply under the Withdrawal Agreement and that it does not therefore flow into domestic law. The court rejected this, stating at [113]:
Read more: Freemovement, https://tinyurl.com/2yazjv5e
EDM 50: Persecution Faced by Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan
That this House is deeply concerned by the ongoing attacks, discrimination and persecution faced by Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan;
recognises that these communities are integral members of the Pakistani society and have made significant contributions to its culture, history, and economy;
notes with concern the rising incidents of forced conversions, kidnappings, property confiscations and violence against Hindus, Sikhs, Ahmadis and Christians, which infringe on their fundamental rights to freedom of religion, belief and security;
condemns any form of religious intolerance and violence;
urges the Government of Pakistan to uphold its international obligations to protect the rights of all religious minorities within its borders;
calls on the Government of Pakistan to intensify efforts to ensure the safety, security, and well-being of its religious minority communities;
calls on the UK Government to engage with the counterparts in Pakistan on these issues to strengthen human rights monitoring in the region.
Tabled 13 November 2023, Jim Shannon MP, https://tinyurl.com/mrxjzcav
Suspend Arms to Israel, Palestinian Armed Groups
Countries Providing Weapons Risk Complicity in Grave Abuses
Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Situation
Palestinian civilians in Gaza are experiencing a devastating humanitarian crisis and violence is rising in the West Bank. The best estimates emerging from a confused situation are that 2.3 million people need access to safe drinking water, food supplies are running out, one-third of hospitals have been forced to shut down and 1.5 million people are displaced. All parties to a conflict must ensure that their actions are proportionate and necessary, affording innocent civilians the protection that is their right under international law.
Allies of Israel and backers of Palestinian armed groups should suspend the transfer of arms to the warring parties in Israel and Gaza given the real risk that they will be used to commit grave abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. Providing weapons that knowingly and significantly would contribute to unlawful attacks can make those providing them complicit in war crimes.
Israel and Palestinian armed groups have committed serious abuses amounting to war crimes during the current hostilities. Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups deliberately killed hundreds of civilians in Israel on October 7, 2023, and took more than 200 hostage. Israel then cut electricity, fuel, food and water to Gaza’s population and severely curtailed life-saving humanitarian aid, all of which are acts of collective punishment.
“Civilians are being punished and killed at a scale unprecedented in recent history in Israel and Palestine,” said Bruno Stagno, chief advocacy officer at Human Rights Watch. “The United States, Iran and other governments risk being complicit in grave abuses if they continue to provide military assistance to known violators.”
Read more: Human Rights Watch, https://tinyurl.com/whptfmv9
RAF Admits to Making 17 Military Flights to Israel Since Gaza Bombing Began
But Declassified discovers 33 UK military transport flights to Tel Aviv in the last month, including every day for two weeks.
Declassified could find no record of similar flights to Israel before Gaza bombing started.
UK military denies sending “lethal aid” and says the planes supported Britain’s “diplomatic engagement” in Israel.
Ministry of Defence refuses to provide detail of the cargo or personnel on flights.
Flight logs tracking aircraft from RAF Akrotiri, the UK’s vast air base in Cyprus, show the RAF flew military transport aircraft to Tel Aviv, Israel’s capital, every day from 13 to 26 October.
Declassified has counted 33 RAF flights from Cyprus to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport since Israel began bombing Gaza. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) told Declassified it had sent 17 flights into Israel’s capital but the time period for this number is unclear.
The exact nature of UK military aid to Israel remains unclear. The discovery of a large number of transport flights could make defence secretary Grant Shapps, who is in charge of the UK military, vulnerable to questioning by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, has said the body is investigating evidence of war crimes perpetrated during the bombing campaign in Gaza.
Read more: Declassified UK, https://tinyurl.com/mt89p9d6
IRR News: Anti-Palestinianism, Suspect Communities and the Racist Backlash
In order to assist advocates for human rights in challenging this anti-Palestinian racism in all its manifestations, this week on IRR News we again produce a special calendar on 'Anti-Palestinianism, Suspect Communities and the Racist Backlash’.
We also provide additional information tools on claims of war crimes carried out by all parties to the conflict, some lodged at the International Criminal Court;
evidence that the Israeli military strategy is informed by genocidal intent;
and a roundup of some of the voices calling for an immediate ceasefire. The latter resource rather dampens Braverman’s claim that those calling for a ceasefire by all parties are encouraging hate, given that the call for a ceasefire is supported by the Irish Taoiseach, the acting Spanish prime minister, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the UNICEF Inter-Agency Standing Committee, which brings together emergency relief coordinators as well as organisations like the International Organisation for Migration, Save the Children, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organisation, the UN Development Programme, the UN Population Fund, not to mention other human rights rapporteurs and commissioners.
Read more: Institute of Race Relations, https://tinyurl.com/yc6vr2nj
Put Your MP to Work – Ask Them to Sign EDM
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