(Sstatus Now) Bibby Stockholm, Army Barracks and Offshoring
The Home Office’s attempts to evade its obligations for humane reception of refugees was one of the major issues of 2023. The use of the Bibby Stockholm barge and decommissioned army barracks were constantly in the news, providing evidence of harm to people caught up in long drawn-out procedures for claiming asylum.
Among the scandals of the year has been the government’s efforts to offshore asylum altogether by sending anyone deemed to have used ‘illegal’ routes of entry to foreign jurisdictions, with Rwanda providing the most controversial l example. Developments under these heading were monitored by Status Now supporters across the year. Their work was compiled in a blog published on our website in December and can be viewed here.
The death of a man on the Bibby Stockholm barge, the suicide attempts by men at a former RAF base in rural Essex, and the deaths of a woman and a man in the Channel were the subject of a blogpost by Charlotte Khan of Care4Calais also published on our website in December.
New EU Deal Undermines Refugee Rights Across Europe
The European Union concluded the year with a new deal which change how the bloc processes migrants, moves them around EU countries and effectively makes it easier to remove unsuccessful asylum seekers. It was criticised by Amnesty International’s Olivia Sundberg Diez who said, “The final deal entails extremely disappointing outcomes across the board. Its main impact will be to increase suffering at borders and make it harder to seek safety.”
Recent Status Now Activities
Status Now continues its migrant and refugee training work in partnership with Migrant Voice. The objective of this training is to help provide people fighting for a residence status in the UK with skills as campaigners in order that they can make the case for treatment in accordance with human rights standards directly to the British public.
The most recent training session took place in Birmingham in December. It brought together people caught up in asylum procedures who wanted to share their experience of the system and present it with greater confidence to media organisations. For more on the session click here.
If you would like to know more about future training sessions in your area please send an email to admin@statusnow4all.org letting us know about your interests in this area of campaigning.
46 Million Children at Risk in West & Central Africa Due to Conflict & Displacement
A forecast 46.7 million children face another year of humanitarian need in West and Central Africa mainly due to ongoing conflict and insecurity, including in the central Sahel region and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the massive displacement of women and children into Chad from Sudan.
“West and Central Africa is home to a large number of critically underfunded emergencies, and some of the most neglected humanitarian crises in the world for children,” said UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Felicité Tchibindat. “Children do not cause conflicts but are powerless to stop them. We need to do more to build a lasting solution for the region’s children and give them hope as they grow up in the midst of chronic and forgotten crises.’’
Read more: Relief Web, https://shorturl.at/orJZ8
TalkTV Pays Damages to Migrants Charity Over ‘Human Traffickers’ Claim
‘Migrants Organise’ expressed concern that "it was suggested that they were ‘funded to help illegal migration’". TalkTV has issued an apology and paid “substantial damages” to a migrants’ rights charity over defamatory claims made on Mike Graham’s show that the organisation were “human traffickers”. The offending remarks were broadcast on 10 and 13 June 2022 during a discussion about ‘Migrants Organise’ on daytime programme The Independent Republic of Mike Graham.
According to the channel’s apology, ‘Migrants Organise’ expressed concern that “it was suggested that they were ‘funded to help illegal migration’, were ‘human traffickers’, and that they facilitated fraud and terrorism by advising asylum seekers to falsify information to bolster their asylum claims”.
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‘Migrants Organise’s chief executive, Zrinka Bralo, said that following the broadcast and its distribution on Twitter “we were exposed to hate and threats of violence as a result of the mischaracterisation of our work and the dehumanisation of people in need, and we had to take a stand. This victory is for the people behind these headlines, people who have no voice or representation, people who are scapegoated, demonised and dehumanised. Their resilience is the source of hope for all of us.”
Source: Bron Maher, Press Gazette, https://shorturl.at/bjyG6
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Continuing Conflicts That Create Refugees - January 2024
Deteriorated Situation: Guinea-Bissau, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, Taiwan Strait, Sudan Israel/Palestine, Jordan, Yemen
Conflict Risk Alerts: Guatemala, Bangladesh, Sudan, Israel/Palestine, Lebanon
Improved Situations: Türkiye, Somalia
Resolution Opportunities: Guatemala
1) The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces captured Wad Madani city in its first major offensive in the east, raising fears the group could try and conquer all of Sudan by force, with destabilising effects for the region (see this month’s Conflict in Focus).
2) Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza – which have killed more than 23,000 people in three months – continue in the territory’s south, leaving the vast majority of the 2.3 million inhabitants struggling to survive amid food insecurity and diseases. Meanwhile, hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah continued to expand, underscoring the risk of a wider conflagration engulfing Lebanon and the region.
3) Following a months-long government crackdown on the opposition, initial election results indicated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won her fifth term in Bangladesh; disputed polls could fuel further protests and violence in the coming weeks.
4) Political volatility remained high in Guatemala amid relentless attempts to discredit election winner Bernardo Arévalo, who is due to take office on 14 January. The president-elect’s ability to assume office will be a test case for the country’s stability.
5) Tensions escalated in the Red Sea as the U.S. took its first military action in response to threats by Yemen’s Houthis against commercial shipping, killing ten Houthi militants attempting to board a vessel.
6) Security forces in Jordan resisted cross-border armed raids by smugglers and militants from Syria, as the military reportedly launched retaliatory airstrikes.
7) Opposition candidates in DR Congo rejected presidential election results giving victory to President Tshisekedi. The former election commission chief launched a political-military alliance with M23 rebels, vowing to oust Tshisekedi.
8) In Guinea-Bissau, fighting broke out between security forces units aligned with rival political factions. President Embaló described the incident as an attempted coup.
9) Cross-strait tensions heightened ahead of Taiwan’s tight January election planned for 13 January, as China maintained its military activity around the island and described reunification as an “inevitability”.
CrisisWatch is our global conflict tracker, an early warning tool designed to help prevent deadly violence. It keeps decision-makers up-to-date with developments in over 70 conflicts and crises every month, identifying trends and alerting them to risks of escalation and opportunities to advance peace. In addition, CrisisWatch monitors over 50 situations (“standby monitoring”) to offer timely information if developments indicate a drift toward violence or instability. Entries dating back to 2003 provide easily searchable conflict histories.
Source: https://shorturl.at/alFU0
Asylum Base Condemned by Home Secretary Moves ‘Torture Victims’ Into Hotels
Nearly 100 asylum seekers, including suspected victims of torture and human trafficking, have been moved out of a controversial RAF base that has been condemned by both Priti Patel and home secretary James Cleverly, The Independent can reveal. The migrants, who were being housed at RAF Wethersfield, were quietly sent to hotels after the Home Office admitted it was an unsuitable place for them to stay. The former airbase in Essex has been described as an “open prison camp”, with desperate migrants attempting suicide, going on hunger strike and trying to set themselves on fire, according to testimony from asylum seekers inside. It is also the subject of a legal challenge launched by refugee charity Care4Calais.
Mr Cleverly said at the end of last year that he would try to close down the site – located in his constituency – “as soon as practicable”. Former home secretary Priti Patel has also described the site as not fit for purpose, and as having “no infrastructure, no amenities” nearby. She also accused the government of being “secretive” and “evasive” about how long Wethersfield would be used for.
Read more: Holly Bancroft, Independent, https://shorturl.at/doKU6
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