Early Day Motion 287: Women's Rights In Saudi Arabia
That this House expresses concern at the continuing guardianship policy in Saudi Arabia which prohibits women from travelling, participating in higher education, marrying, conducting official business or undergoing certain medical procedures without permission of a male guardian; believes such a policy fundamentally harms the interests of women in the kingdom and draws attention to a case highlighted in Human Rights Watch's 2013 world report where a woman seriously injured in a car accident which had killed her husband had an operation delayed due to not having a male guardian to authorise the procedure; opposes further discriminatory policies such as the ban on female drivers and expresses solidarity with campaigns such as Women2Drive which is seeking to overturn these; is disappointed that in custody disputes courts in the kingdom typically award custody of female children over the age of seven and male children over the age of nine to the father; expresses particular concern about the plight of female migrant domestic workers who require a sponsor's consent to change jobs or leave the country and often face severe psychological, physical and sexual abuse; and calls on the UK Government to publicly oppose all gender discrimination in practice and law in Saudi Arabia, make representations to its Saudi counterparts pressing them to safeguard women's rights in the kingdom as a matter of urgency and place women's rights at the centre of its relationship with the kingdom.
Sponsors: Clark, Katy/ Corbyn, Jeremy / Flynn, Paul / Hopkins, Kelvin / Riordan, Linda / Ward, David - <> House of Commons: 20.06.2013
Failed Afghan Asylum Seeker 'to Receive £85,000 In Damages'
. . . . . After fleeing Afghanistan in 1999 Mr Ullah came to the UK and claimed asylum.
His application was rejected two years later, leaving him vulnerable to being returned to his country of origin because he had not established a claim for international protection.
However, at the time the Home Office had in place an Exceptional Leave to Remain (ELR) policy for failed Afghan asylum seekers.
Based on the wider conditions in the country, it remained in effect until 2002.
Mr Ullah argued that he was never told about the policy, and that it should have been applied to him due to his nationality.
Read more: Belfast Telegraph, <> 19/06/13
Family Migration Rules
. . . . One of the main concerns is that the income requirement—£18,600 to sponsor a non-EEA spouse or partner, more if there are also children—is high for many British people and permanent residents of the UK. According to the accounts we received, the income requirement has affected some British people who appear to have more than adequate means to support themselves and family members. Some people seeking to sponsor a non-EEA spouse or partner told us that they were not receiving any benefits and were living well within their means, but that the application process did not allow them to reflect their self-sufficiency.
Many individuals who submitted evidence said that they were in employment in the UK and being paid a wage above £12,850, which hon. Members will recognise as the current level of the national minimum wage. We heard from the Migration Observatory at Oxford university that 47% of the UK working population would now be unable to meet the income requirement through earnings alone.
Read more: House of Commons / <> 19 Jun 2013 : Column 254WH
Successful Win For Children With Discretionary Leave
The Administrative Court declared that a policy which does not give effect to section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 is not lawful. Coram Children's Legal Centre (CCLC), argued that where there had been findings that the removal of a child would breach his or her human rights, the SSHD's failure to consider granting Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), when requested to do so, and to, instead, grant Discretionary Leave (DL) as a matter of course is wrong.
Read more: <> Free Movement 18/06/13
Self-Harm in Immigration Detention Q1 Jan/Feb/March 2013
A Suicide Attempt Every 29 hours!
Incidents of Self-Harm Requiring Medical Treatment (SHRMT) increased by 60.4% in Q1/2013 over Q4/2012
Over all IRCs, there were 77 incidents of SHRMT in Q1/2013, compared to 48 incidents in Q4 2012
Yarl's Wood had 14 incidents of SHRMT in Q1/2013 a 133% increase, compared to 6 incidents in Q4 2012. And a 53% increase in the number of detainees on Self-Harm/Suicide Watch, 95 in Q1/2013 compared to 62 in Q4/2013.
Cedars Pre-departure had only 1 incident of SHMRT in Q1/2013, there were 2 in Q4/2012. However there were 13 detainees on Self-Harm/Suicide Watch in Q1/2013 compared to 9 in Q4/2012
Morton Hall had 9 incidents of SHRMT in Q1/2013 a 350% increase, compared to 2 incidents in Q4 2012
Over all IRCs there were 526 detainees on Self-Harm/Suicide Watch in Q1/2013 a 12% increase, compared to 468 in Q4/2012
Harmondsworth had 84 detainees on Suicide watch in Q1/2013 compared to 36 in Q4/2012
Colnbrook had 103 detainees on Suicide watch in Q1/2013 compared to 65 in Q4/2012
[UKBA say there were no deaths in Immigration Detention in Q1/2013, they are being somewhat disingenuous here. UKBA know there were two definite deaths within 12 hours of *two detainees being discharged from detention as medically unfit to be detained in Q1 2013.]
Previous statistics: January 2007 through December 2012 are <>here . . . .
| Number of incidents of Self-Harm
requiring medical treatment Q1 - 2013 |
|
|
Total |
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
| Brook House |
26 |
|
3 |
13 |
10 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Campsfield House |
2 |
|
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Colnbrook |
|
6 |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Dover |
|
7 |
|
1 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Dungavel |
|
1 |
|
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Harmondsworth |
1 |
|
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Haslar |
|
3 |
|
0 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Morton Hall |
|
9 |
|
0 |
4 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Tinsley House |
|
7 |
|
3 |
0 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Yarl's Wood |
|
14 |
|
5 |
5 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Larne |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Pennine House |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Cedars Pre-departure |
1 |
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
15 |
29 |
33 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Subtotal |
|
|
Q1 - 77 |
*±±± Khalid Shahzad Age 52: Died on Saturday 30th March 2013. It has been confirmed that Mr. Shahzad, was discharged from Colnbrook IRC as medically unfit to remain in detention on Saturday 30th March. He was travelling back to Manchester by train and died around 19:15 hrs on the journey. Detainees said, Doctors referred to Mr Shahzad to the coronary angiogram and he went through with that process and eventually because of stress became extremely unhealthy.
±±± Alois Dvorzac an 84-year-old Canadian died after becoming ill at Harmondsworth IRC. He was said to be "extremely distressed" before being rushed to hospital on Sunday 10th February 2013. He died later that day in hospital after suffering a suspected heart attack.
| Individuals on Formal Self-Harm at Risk
in Immigration Detention Q1/ - 2013 |
|
|
Total |
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
|
|
|
|
|
| Brook House |
|
116 |
|
32 |
38 |
46 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Campsfield House |
27 |
|
10 |
6 |
11 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Colnbrook |
|
103 |
|
28 |
40 |
35 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Dover |
|
26 |
|
9 |
12 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Dungavel |
|
25 |
|
6 |
7 |
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Harmondsworth |
84 |
|
19 |
25 |
40 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Haslar |
|
8 |
|
2 |
4 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Morton Hall |
|
22 |
|
3 |
10 |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Tinsley House |
|
37 |
|
19 |
8 |
10 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Yarl's Wood |
|
95 |
|
25 |
33 |
37 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Larne |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Pennine House |
|
2 |
|
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Cedars Pre-departure |
13 |
|
4 |
6 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
126 |
189 |
211 |
| Subtotal |
|
526 |
|
|
|
|
|
Public Law Project's Exceptional Funding Project
Exceptional funding will only be available to people whose human rights or European Union rights would be breached if they did not have legal aid (section 10 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012). The Government intends this to be a high threshold and envisages that only a small number of cases will get exceptional funding. The most relevant human right in this context is Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to a fair hearing when someone's rights and obligations are being determined.
This means that where the refusal of legal aid would make it practically impossible for someone to bring their case or would result in obvious unfairness in the proceedings, legal aid may have to be provided under Article 6. Other human rights may also require the provision of legal aid, including the right to a private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention and the right not to be tortured, or treated in a way that is inhuman or degrading under Article 3 of the European Convention.
Legal aid may also have to be provided under European Union law as a result of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: the criteria for this are similar to the criteria under Article 6 of the European Court of Human Rights. Guidance on exceptional funding has been published by the Government.
Exceptional funding may also be available for inquests where the right to life under Article 2 of the European Convention is engaged. For more detail on funding for inquests see the Government's guidance: this is not something that the Public Law Project are able to advise on, as inquests do not fall within the Public Law Project's Exceptional Funding Project. You may want to contact Inquest for advice and assistance.
Read more: <>The Public law Project
Garden Court Chambers - Immigration Law Bulletin - Issue 329
Asylum Research Consultancy (ARC) COI Update Volume 59
This document provides an update of Country Guidance case law and UKBA publications and developments in refugee producing countries between 04/06/2013 and 17/06/2013 - Volume 59 <> here . . .
UKBA: Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria
This country of origin information (COI) report has been produced by the COI Service, Home Office, for use by officials involved in the asylum/human rights determination process. The report provides general background information about the issues most commonly raised in asylum/human rights claims made in the United Kingdom. The main body of the report includes information available up to 1 February 2013. The report was issued on 14 June 2013.
<> Published on Refworld, 17/06/13
Harmondsworth: Detainees freed After Near-Fatal Hunger Strikes
An increasing number of asylum seekers are being released from detention after almost starving themselves to death, the Guardian has learned.
On Monday (10/06/13) alone, four men were freed from Harmondsworth immigration removal centre after refusing food for weeks, according to sources both inside the centre and at the Home Office. As many as 17 inmates were on hunger strike at the centre last month, the Harmondsworth source said.
Security staff say they are placed in an impossible situation as more detainees refuse food as a means of obtaining their release. "We do not want detainees to die, but releasing them may encourage other detainees to go on hunger strike. It is a lose-lose situation," said the Harmondsworth source, who asked not to be named for fear of losing their job.
The four asylum seekers released on Monday had been assessed as medically unfit for detention weeks earlier, the centre source said, but the Home Office refused to release them until this week when one of them was at "death's door". The centre's watchdogs said they were "amazed that a doctor's judgment is overruled".
Read more: Eric Allison/Helen Pidd, guardian.co.uk, 14//06/13
Fastrack: UKBA Refuse to Adopt UN guidelines
Lord Roberts of Llandudno to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will review the Detained Fast Track programme in the light of Guideline IV of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' Guidelines on the Applicable Criteria and Standards relating to the Detention of Asylum-Seekers and Alternatives to Detention 2012 that detention "must be an exceptional measure".[HL662]
Lord Taylor of Holbeach: A specific review of the Detained Fast Track (DFT) processes in light of Guideline IV is not planned. The Home Office works closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and has consulted with its representatives on a number of occasions regarding DFT policy. The 2012 guidelines were brought to the attention of policy officials following publication, at which time they were carefully examined. Guideline IV of the UNHCR document lays out a number of limited bases in which it considers asylum applicants may be detained. The Guideline does not admit the basis under which DFT has consistently operated.
The Home Office has considered the Guidelines and we continue to believe that where applied carefully, on a case by case basis and in circumstances limited by law and our published policy, the detention of asylum applicants for a short period while their need for protection is assessed is fair, lawful and appropriate.
<> House of Lords / 13 Jun 2013 : Column WA261
51 Dead In Spate Of Attacks Across Iraq
A blistering string of apparently co-ordinated bombings and a shooting across Iraq killed at least 51 and wounded dozens on Sunday, spreading fear throughout the county in a wave of violence that is raising the prospect of a return to widespread sectarian killing a decade after a US-led invasion.
Violence has spiked sharply in Iraq in recent months, with the death toll rising to levels not seen since 2008. Nearly 2,000 have been killed since the start of April, including more than 180 this month. The surge in bloodshed accompanies rising sectarian tensions within Iraq and growing concerns that its unrest is being fanned by the Syrian civil war raging next door.
Read more: <> Guardian UK, 16/06/13
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