Windrush Compensation Scheme ‘Not Fit for Purpose’

Freedom of information data attained by Labour MP Kate Osamor and shared exclusively with The Independent shows that of 3,479 claimant appeals in 2021, only 42 resulted in a settlement. The government has been accused of “marking its own homework” over the Windrush compensation appeals process as new figures reveal only 1 per cent of payout reviews were successful. The Edmonton MP said the appeals process was “not fit for purpose” and Windrush claimants are being told to “take it or leave it” when they receive offers.

“The Home Office perpetrated the Windrush Scandal. Now they are deciding how much compensation should be awarded to their victims. The result is unsurprising – consistent and poor-quality decision making resulting in insultingly small offers of compensation. Under those circumstances a fully independent and functioning appeals process is essential. That isn’t what we have.”

Read more: Thomas Kingsley, Independent, https://rb.gy/u6oapi

Top Five Countries for People Seeking Asylum in the UK

Iran, Iraq, Eritrea, Albania and Syria

Iran: Significant Human Rights Issues Included Credible Reports Of

- unlawful or arbitrary killings by the government and its agents, most commonly executions for crimes not meeting the international legal standard of “most serious crimes” or for crimes committed by juvenile offenders, as well as after trials without due process; forced disappearance attributed to the government and its agents; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment by the government and its agents; arbitrary arrest or detention; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; political prisoners and detainees; politically motivated reprisals against individuals in another country, including killings, kidnappings, or violence; serious problems with independence of the judiciary, particularly the revolutionary courts; unlawful interference with privacy; punishment of family members for offenses allegedly committed by an individual;

Read more: https://rb.gy/kcmaaz

Iraq: Significant Human Rights Issues Included Credible Reports Of

- unlawful or arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings by the government; forced disappearances by the government; torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment by the government; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; punishment of family members for offenses allegedly committed by an individual; unlawful recruitment or use of child soldiers by the Popular Mobilization Forces; serious restrictions on free expression and media, including violence or threats of violence against journalists, unjustified arrests and prosecutions against journalists, censorship, and existence of criminal libel laws; serious restrictions on internet freedom; substantial interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association; restrictions on freedom of movement of women; forced returns of internally displaced persons to locations where they faced threats to their lives and freedom; threats of violence against internally displaced persons and returnee populations perceived to have been affiliated with ISIS; serious government corruption; lack of investigation and accountability for gender-based violence; crimes involving violence targeting members of ethnic minority groups; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons; significant restrictions on worker freedom of association; and the existence of the worst forms of child labor.

Read more: https://rb.gy/ib45hj

Syria: Significant Human Rights Issues Included Credible Reports Of

- unlawful or arbitrary killings by the regime; forced disappearances by the regime; torture, including torture involving sexual violence, by the regime; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions, including denial of medical care; prolonged arbitrary detention; political prisoners and detainees; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; punishment of family members for offenses allegedly committed by an individual; serious abuses in internal conflict, including unlawful recruitment and use of child soldiers by the regime and other armed actors, and aerial and ground attacks impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure such as schools, markets, and hospitals; serious restrictions on free expression and media, including violence and threats of violence against journalists, unjustified arrests or prosecutions of journalists, censorship, and the existence of criminal libel laws; serious restrictions on internet freedom; substantial suppression of the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including overly restrictive laws on the organization, funding, or operation of nongovernmental and civil society organizations; undue restrictions on freedom of movement; inability of citizens to change their government peacefully through free and fair elections; serious and unreasonable restrictions on political participation; serious government corruption;

Read more: https://rb.gy/mmlgc8

Jordan: Government Crushes Civic Space

Detentions, Interrogations, Harassment and Restrictions on Basic Rights: Civic space in Jordan has shrunk over the past four years as authorities persecute and harass citizens organizing peacefully and engaging in political dissent, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities use vague and abusive laws that criminalize speech, association, and assembly, Human Rights Watch found. The authorities detain, interrogate, and harass journalists, political activists, and members of political parties and independent trade unions, and their family members, and restrict their access to basic rights, such as work and travel, to quash political dissent.

The Jordanian government has also dissolved political parties and independently elected trade unions after members exercised their right to protest and express political opposition. In 2020, following a high-level dispute between the government and the teachers’ union over salaries, the authorities raided and arrested union board members, then dissolved the union.

Jordanian authorities should extend the country’s political reform program by undertaking concrete measures that would alleviate the growing repression that restricts civic space and political participation in the first place. Human rights Watch sai: “It is doubtful that Jordan’s political reform program will succeed in the face of a deterioration of freedom of speech, assembly, and association across the country,” Fakih said. “Jordanian authorities should take urgent steps to reverse the closure of civil space and allow Jordanians to fully participate in the social and political life of the country without hinderance.”

Read more: https://rb.gy/aj6xwz

A Hostile Environment Perpetuates Modern Slavery in the Garment Industry

In recent years “fast-fashion” has come under criticism for both the environmental and human impact of its supply chains. On 29 July 2022 the Competition and Markets Authority announced that it had launched investigations into the environmental claims of three fashion giants: Boohoo, ASOS and George by ASDA. Whilst this is welcome news, there is no sign of action being taken to address the systemic problems which allow labour issues to thrive.

There is vast evidence of modern slavery in the United Kingdom’s fast-fashion industry and particularly in Leicester. Leicester is renowned for garment’s manufacturing with over 1000 known sites, excluding home-working. Most factories in Leicester, which employ primarily migrant communities, are small workshops, often housed in dilapidated buildings with little investment in building safety and modern ventilation.

The hostile environment has impacted the media, public attitudes, and most alarmingly the approach of our front line authorities. We have seen repeatedly how this has led to systemic failures in identifying and protecting against modern slavery, as victims are consistently labelled as illegal immigrants. There have been multiple complaints by grass roots organisations highlighting how public authorities’ treatment of victims allows cases of modern slavery to rise in the United Kingdom. But in response, the government perpetuates the same rhetoric and does little to rectify the situation.

Read more: Freemovement, https://rb.gy/eyomyt

Asylum Support Payment Level in 2022 - 27% Lower Than in 2000

Under Section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, destitute asylum seekers are entitled to free accommodation and a weekly cash allowance to cover their essential living needs. The Home Office reviews regularly the level of the weekly cash allowance, and has changed it 13 times since 2000 (Figure 15: Nominal payment).

When introduced in 2000, asylum seekers were entitled to one of a variety of different payments, depending on their age and whether they were a lone parent or part of a couple. In 2015, the government replaced these different payments by a single payment level for all destitute asylum seekers.

On 3 April 2000, the weekly payment was set at £36.54 for a single adult aged 25 or over, equivalent to £5.22 a day. On 10 August 2015, the equivalent daily payment for all asylum seekers was set at £5.28 per day. The payment has increased three times since then, most recently in February 2022, to £40.85 a week, equivalent to £5.84 per day.

These increases have not kept up with inflation. In real terms, the payment level in 2022 is 27% lower than in 2000 (in 2000, £5.22 bought £8 worth of goods and services in 2021 GBP). Since the single asylum support payment was introduced in 2015, the level of the payment has fallen in real terms (Figure 15: ‘Inflation-adjusted’).

France Breaches the European Convention of Human Rights

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has held that France breached Article 3.2 of Protocol 4 due to the lack of explanation for and independent scrutiny of decisions not to repatriate two French nationals living in camps controlled in north east Syria. The case is HF and Others v France (14 September 2022, Application Nos 24384/19 and 44234/20).

Whilst the decision has been described in the mainstream media as “a blow to the British government” it is worth noting that the UK has signed but not ratified Protocol 4, meaning that it cannot be relied upon in respect of British nationals in the camps.

The applicants in the case, HF and MF, were the parents of two daughters who left France for Syria with their partners, to travel to territory controlled by Daesh forces. HF’s daughter gave birth to two children in Syria in 2014 and 2016; her partner died in 2018. MF’s daughter gave birth to one child in Syria in 2019. The children and their mothers were French nationals. After Daesh lost control of its territory to Kurdish forces (from 2017), the applicants’ daughters and their children were amongst those arrested and taken to the al-Hol and Roj camps in north east Syria. These camps were under the military supervision of Kurdish forces and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.
The International Committee of the Red Cross regional director described the conditions in the camps as “apocalyptic”. Other reports described children suffering from malnutrition, dehydration, war injuries and post-traumatic stress; they were at risk of violence and sexual exploitation; weather conditions were extreme; detention conditions inhumane and degrading, with detainees exposed to torture; and violence in the camps were pervasive.

Read more: Freemovement, https://rb.gy/musfbr

Eritrea: Significant Human Rights Issues Included Credible Reports Of

- unlawful and arbitrary killings; forced disappearance; torture; harsh and life-threatening prison and detention center conditions; arbitrary detention; political prisoners; serious problems with judicial independence; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; serious abuses in a conflict, including reportedly unlawful and widespread civilian harm, rape, and enforced disappearances; serious restrictions on free expression and media, including censorship and the existence of criminal libel laws; substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including overly restrictive laws on the organization, funding, or operation of nongovernmental organizations and civil society organizations; severe restrictions on religious freedom; restrictions on freedom of movement and residence within the territory of the state and on the right to leave the country; inability of citizens to change their government peacefully through free and fair elections; serious and unreasonable restrictions on political participation; serious government restrictions on domestic and international human rights organizations; lack of investigation of and accountability for gender-based violence, including but not limited to domestic or intimate partner violence; trafficking in persons; existence of laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults; outlawing of independent trade unions; and the worst forms of child labor.

Read more: https://rb.gy/gahfvv

Albania: Significant Human Rghts Issues Included:

- problems with the independence of the judiciary as it continued to undergo vetting; restrictions on free expression and the press; and pervasive corruption in all branches of government and municipal institutions. Impunity remained a problem, although the Specialized Anticorruption Body and anticorruption courts made significant progress during the year in investigating, prosecuting, and convicting senior officials and organized criminals. Torture And Other Cruel, Inhuman, Or Degrading Treatment Or Punishment - While the constitution and law prohibit such actions, there were allegations that police sometimes abused suspects and prisoners. For example, the Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC) reported a case of physical abuse of a minor while in police detention. Medical staff did not report the corroborating physical examination showing bruising to the head and arm to the prosecutor’s office. Responding to the incident, the general director of police mandated training focused on criminal procedural rights of juveniles. Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies While individuals and organizations may seek civil remedies for human rights violations, instances of judicial corruption, inefficiency, intimidation, and political tempering were reported. Courts took steps to address the problem by using audio-recording equipment. Despite having a statutory right to free legal aid in civil cases, NGOs reported that very few individuals benefitted from such aid during the year.

Read more: https://rb.gy/jivkdm