Irish High Court Finds Decision to List UK as a Safe Third Country Unlawful
Ireland: Following Brexit, the Dublin Regulations no longer applied to the UK and so in December 2020 Ireland made an order designating the UK as a safe third country for the purpose of the International Protection Act 2015.
The judicial review included a challenge to the lawfulness of the decision in light of the UK’s Rwanda policy. The court set out the history of the Rwanda policy to date, including concerns about the Bill as raised by UNHCR and the Bar Council, and makes a point of noting House of Lords concerns about the treaty.
The grounds for judicial review also included that the designation of the UK as a safe third country was unlawful because of the failure to carry out a meaningful review and/or that it was irrational.
The High Court held [at 168] that there was a gap between EU law and Irish domestic law and that the latter had failed to include all the necessary safeguards required under EU law. In particular: The failure to require the Minister to be satisfied that a person would not be subjected to serious harm on transfer to a third country, if designated as safe, means that Ireland is in breach of the requirements of EU law, specifically Article 3(3) of the Dublin III Regulations.
On that basis it was held that the decision to designate the UK as a safe country was unlawful and the Minister had exceeded their powers in doing so.
Read more: Freemovemenmt, https://shorturl.at/erAMX
The 'Butchers Apron' ~ Aka the 'Union Jack'
The vast majority of people who make it to the UK, seeking asylum come from former British Colonies. Countries that the UK plundered of natural resources and when forced to depart, left most of the countries in political/economic turmoil the ramifications of which still bedevil these countries today.
The legacy of the British Empire MUST be front and centre when we make arguments about the injustice of immigration controls. "we are here because you were there and are still there" is critically relevant.
Britain with brutal and violent oppression colonized over 57 countries mostly in the 16th/17th/18th centuries. None of the countries asked to be colonized and most of them had to resort to bloody and violent insurgency to drive the British out and gain their freedom/independence back.
To the majority of those colonized the Union Jack was known as the 'Butchers Apron'. Though Britain boasted the sun never set on the British Empire, it would be more true to say, 'the sun never set and the blood of innocents never dried.'
Read more: http://www.no-deportations.org.uk/Media-1/ButchersApron.html
Migrant Workers at Greater Risk of Modern Slavery After Brexit
Visas created hastily to solve labour shortages as a result of Brexit have put workers at greater risk of modern slavery and exploitation, research has found.
Strict conditions on agricultural and care visas created after Britain left the EU expose workers to “hyper-precarity” and increase their vulnerability to exploitation, a study by a coalition of leading universities and charities has concluded. Since Brexit, farm workers and care home workers have had a route to Britain on time-limited visas with stringent conditions.
Workers on the schemes faced significant issues of debt and deductions from wages because of illegal recruitment fees as well as costs incurred from travel, training, accommodation and high visa charges, researchers found. They also described deception by intermediaries, who misled workers about the conditions and length of employment they could expect.
Read more: Emily Dugan, Guardian, https://shorturl.at/bhkVW
Sentencing Council Opens Consultation On New Guidelines for Immigration Offences
This week the Sentencing Council published new draft sentencing guidelines for immigration offences within the Immigration Act 1971 and Identity Documents Act 2010. This includes offences expanded by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. Previously, there had been no formal guidelines for these offences.
The draft guidelines have been published for consultation, a process open to members of the judiciary, legal practitioners, and any individuals who work in or have an interest in criminal justice. It is a 12-week consultation, closing on 12 June 2024.
Read more: Freemovemenmt, https://is.gd/txS15t
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Shocking’ Increase in Children Denied Aid in Conflicts
Painting a grim landscape of the world’s war zones, Virginia Gamba, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, briefed ambassadors, citing grave concerns, from war-torn Gaza to gang-ravaged Haiti, where famine looms amid rampant violence and displacement. Denying aid access has long-lasting effects on children’s wellbeing and development, she said.
“Let me be very clear,” she said. “The Geneva Conventions and the Convention on the Rights of the Child contain key provisions requiring the facilitation of humanitarian relief to children in need. The denial of humanitarian access to children and attacks against humanitarian workers assisting children are also prohibited under international humanitarian law.”
The UN’s engagement with combatants to end and prevent violations against children is critical, she said. Unfortunately, data gathered for her forthcoming 2024 report shows “we are on target to witness a shocking increase of the incidents of the denial of humanitarian access globally,” she said, adding that “the blatant disregard for international humanitarian law continues to increase.”
Read more: United Nations, https://shorturl.at/glp25
Crown Court Quashes Human Trafficking Victim’s Convictions
The Crown Court has quashed a human trafficking victim’s convictions after a Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) referral. Ms AAC in April 2003, May 2004 and September 2018 pleaded guilty to three counts of obtaining property by deception, using a false instrument for other than prescription drugs, entering the United Kingdom without leave, and theft.
At the time of her 2018 conviction, there were clear indicators that she was a victim of trafficking, which were not investigated, and she was not advised of a possible defence under section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The CCRC considered that there was a real possibility that Ms AAC’s earlier convictions were an abuse of process because she was not afforded the protection to which victims of trafficking are entitled.
Ms AAC’s convictions arose from guilty pleas in the Magistrates’ Court, and she had no ordinary right of appeal. As a result, the CCRC considered there were exceptional circumstances that justified the referral in the absence of a prior appeal. The CCRC referred the case in January 2024, and the convictions were quashed by the court on 26 March 2024.
Government Rejects Recommendation to Limit Asylum Detention
Six months after the Brook House inquiry was concluded, the government has dismissed its crucial recommendation of setting a time limit on detaining immigrants. The inquiry was intended to prevent the recurrence of the inhumane treatment suffered by migrants at the scandal-hit Brook House immigration centre. This inquiry, in which the Home Office was the main inquiry subject, was in response to BBC’s investigative current affairs documentary broadcast in September 2017, which included covert footage of abuse of detained people at Brook House immigration removal centre (IRC) by a number of contracted service provider staff.
Kate Eves, the Chairwoman of the inquiry, revealed shocking findings, that there were 19 incidents of mistreatment against detainees over a five-month period. Her investigation also revealed a toxic environment in the IRC where detainees were forcibly stripped naked before being relocated, racist remarks and aggressive behaviors were being dismissed as banter. Detainees were also subjected to mocking and derogatory language.
These revelations underscored systemic failures within the immigration detention system, raising questions about oversight and safeguards for vulnerable individuals.
Read more: Venita Yeung, Justice Gap, https://shorturl.at/kmJ27
Chief Inspector’s Report on Social Care Sector
Finds Issues With Sponsor Licences And Compliance
The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration’s report An inspection of the immigration system as it relates to the social care sector’ has been published and has identified some serious shortcomings in the sponsor licence process for the sector, while noting that the Home Office has started putting systems in place to address some of these. The inspection covered the period August to November 2023 and was published just seven weeks after it was sent to the Home Secretary.
Despite a substantial increase in the number of sponsors on the register, which was 94,704 on 30 November 2023, up from 32,264 at the end of December 2020, the compliance team did not have an increase in staff and also had issues with recruitment and retention.
The report also highlighted concerns raised by stakeholders about the quality of engagement with the Home Office, with 27 of the 60 responses describing this as a concern [6.5].
Read more: Freemovement, https://is.gd/ADlqbl
Evidence to Suggest a Case of Human Trafficking Could See Conviction Overturned
CCRC has referred a case to the Crown Court which involves potential human trafficking. Mr AL was arrested at a property in September 2019 and was convicted several days later for the production of cannabis. He was sentenced to six months in custody. Mr AL pleaded guilty to the offence but stated he had met an individual who offered him a place to stay and work. He said he stayed there because he was homeless and did not want any trouble. He later revealed that he had been threatened and beaten. The CCRC received an application from Mr AL’s representatives in April 2022 which included documents suggesting Mr AL had never been advised of a defence under s45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which resulted in him pleading guilty. S45 provides a complete defence for slavery or trafficking victims who commit an offence in specified circumstances. The CCRC now considers that the Crown Court may not uphold the conviction.
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