26 Jan 2012

Parliamentarians and researchers representing a number of MPs met again on 7 Dec 2011 to discuss their shared concerns about immigration detention in the UK.

The Parliamentary Network Meeting on detention was chaired by Dr Julian Huppert MP, and was attended by nine parliamentarians and seven researchers representing MPs’ offices. John Vine, the Independent Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency, Elizabeth Bowles at Equality and Human Rights Commission and Amy Summerfield at Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons provided presentations on their recent and forthcoming reports on detention.

At the meeting, there was a shared disappointment and frustration with UKBA’s responses to the recommendations made by the Independent Chief Inspector of UKBA and other monitoring bodies.

There was a also consensus at the meeting that the current detention system is leading to substantial numbers of people being detained with serious effects on their lives and health, many of them only to be released later. This is causing a significant waste of resources, both human lives and government finance.

The parliamentarians present at the meeting were keen to work together to highlight detention problems and resolve them through committees and other parliamentary processes, with the help of NGOs via the Detention Forum. The ideas such as publishing regular newsletters for the parliamentarians and forming small cross-party groups in order to lobby on issues of joint concern were discussed.

The Parliamentary Network Meetings on detention are held twice a year and are hosted by the Detention Forum.   The full report is available here.  The next meeting will take place on 23 May 2012, chaired by Dr Julian Huppert MP. 

29 Nov 2011

In a move that has been welcomed by many detention NGOs, national human rights bodies such as Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) have highlighted immigration detention as one of the key human rights issues in the UK in their submissions to the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council. 

Immigration detention was one of the 22 human rights issues covered by EHRC’s UPR submission.  The submission states that EHRC is “concerned with safeguards of the detained fast track system for individuals pending asylum decisions and the length of time people can spend in detention awaiting removal.”  It goes on to mention a wide range of problems such as provision of mental health and interpretation services and detention of vulnerable people. 

BIHR’s voluntary-sector-wide submission cited data from Yarl’s Wood Befrienders: the group assisted 32 women claiming to be victims of torture or trafficking detained at Yarls Wood Immigration Removal Centre in 2011.   It was endorsed by a number of supporters of The Detention Forum. 

A large number of detention NGOs, such as Gatwick Detainee Welfare Group, Dover Detainee Visitor Group, Association for Visitors to Immigration Detainees, Bail for Immigration Detainees, Detention Action, Yarl’s Wood Befrienders and Campaign to Close Campsfield, also provided submissions which often dealt with some of the specific detention issues in depth. 

Detention featured prominently in other human rights NGOs’ submissions. The Equal Rights Trust focussed on detention of stateless persons, while René Cassin recommended a strict time limit on detention to reduce long-term detention.  Freedom from Torture raised their concern that victims of torture are routinely detained despite the safeguards put in place by the UK Border Agency and called for the abolition of the Detained Fast Track. 

The Universal Period Review’s oral examination of the UK Government will take place in May 2012. 

28 November 2011

Mapping Statelessness in the United Kingdom, a joint report by UNHCR and Asylum Aid, seeks to shed light on the complex and hidden issue of statelessness.  The research maps the number and profile of stateless persons in the UK, and puts a human face on their situation.  It also examines the UK’s legal obligations to stateless persons under international law and analyses the impact of current domestic policy and practice. 

The report recommends that the UKBA put in place better systems to identify stateless persons and to protect them from a range of human rights infringement, including the risk ofarbitrary immigration detention.

In particular the report argues that finding someone to be stateless should weigh against any decisionto detain them, on the basis that statelessness is likely to indicate that there is no reasonable prospect of removal.  It also includes a dedicated section on issues surrounding the detention of stateless persons as well as those who cannot be re-documented and are at risk of statelessness.

The Equal Rights Trust, Asylum Aid and Detention Action will be jointly conducting a free workshop on statelessness in the UK on 6 Jan 2012 in central London from 10am to 2pm.  If you would like to attend, please contact Eiri Ohtani at detentionforum(at)gmail.com.

Further information about statelessness can be found at www.unhcr.org.uk/statelessness.

21 November 2011 (amended 25 Nov 2011)

The Equal Rights Trust, Asylum Aid and Detention Action will be jointly conducting a free workshop on statelessness in the UK on 8 December in central London from 10am to 2pm. Refreshments will be served.

The workshop which is intended for individuals and organisations who work with migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and detainees, will cover the following:

·         International and comparative legal frameworks pertaining to statelessness.

·         Statelessness in the UK.

·         The detention of stateless persons in the UK.

If you would like to attend the session, please contact Eiri Ohtani at detentionforum(at)gmail.com as soon as possible as places are limited. 

9 November 2011

In response to a Parliamentary Question tabled by Julian Huppert MP, the Immigration Minister, Damian Green, has said that the UKBA intends to review the guidance for making the initial detention decision. 

Mr Huppert tabled two questions on issues of long-term detention of foreign national ex-offenders, as highlighted by the recent report by the Office of the Independent Chief Inspector of UKBA.  The questions asked what steps were being taken by UKBA to reduce long-term detention and to revise the risk assessment of ex-offenders contained in the Enforcement Instructions and Guidance (EIG). EIG is the main document that stipulates how UKBA carries out its enforcement function, including how it makes decisions to detain. 

The section of EIG that deals with the detention decision and review has been severely criticised by a recent High Court ruling in the case of BA.  The court found that, while EIG claims to prescribe individual assessment in each decision to detain, it simultaneously slants the risk assessment to the extent that the detention of more serious offenders becomes effectively automatic.  In the case of BA, UKBA’s interpretation of EIG led a seriously mentally ill person to be detained until his life was in danger. 

Damian Green’s response on 8^th November 2011 to Mr Huppert’s question concluded “The UK Border Agency will also review the template and guidance for making the initial detention decision to ensure that all detention decisions are based on a sound consideration of the evidence.”  While it is not clear what this review entails, it might present an opportunity for UKBA to move away from the culture of detention that was criticised by the Independent Chief Inspector’s report. 

The Independent Chief Inspector’s inspection found that of foreign national ex-offenders at the end of their sentences whom UKBA was trying to deport, 97% remained incarcerated either in prisons or Immigration Removal Centres. It also found that “(t)he average length of detention had increased from 143 days in February 2010 to 190 days in January 2011, and 27 per cent of all foreign national prisoners who were detained after their custodial sentence had been detained for longer than 12 months.” (page 3) The inspection report concluded “the sheer weight of cases resulting in detention is of concern and, in our view, there remains a culture that detention is ‘the norm’” (page 22).

According to the latest UKBA statistics, of the total of 2,685 people detained, 407 people (15%) had been detained for over six months at 30 June 2011.  Of these, 217 people had been detained for over a year and 74 had been detained for over 2 years.

The Detention Forum is hosting a Parliamentary meeting on detention on 7^th December 2011, with Julian Huppert MP as the Chair.  The Independent Chief Inspector of UKBA and a representative from the Equality and Human Rights Commission will be speaking at the meeting. 

3 November 2011

John Vine, the Independent Chief Inspector of UKBA, will be speaking to MPs and peers at the next Parliamentary meeting on detention on 7 December 2011.  He will be speaking about the recent report, A thematic inspection of how the UK Border Agency manages foreign national prisoners, which was critical of UKBA’s practice of detaining foreign national ex-offenders.  UKBA’s response to this report is available here. 

Also at the meeting, a representative of Equality and Human Rights Commission will be talking about their forthcoming report on human rights in the UK as it relates to immigration detention issues. 

These Parliamentary meetings are chaired by Dr Julian Huppert MP and supported by the Detention Forum.  The meetings aim to increase the politicians’ awareness of immigration detention issues and provide them space to discuss and identify any actions that they can take to influence detention practice and policy. 

If your organisation can assist us inviting MPs and Peers to this meeting, please contact Eiri Ohtani at detentionforum(at)gmail.com.  So far, seven organisations have contacted their MPs, encouraging them to attend this Parliamentary meeting. 

27 October 2011

The Independent Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency has today published a report which is highly critical of UKBA’s routine use of detention to manage foreign national prisoners who have already finished their prison sentences. 

The report A thematic inspection of how the UK Border Agency manages foreign national prisoners is based on the examination of case files, interviews with UKBA staff members and review of UKBA policy and procedures on handling foreign national prisoners’ cases. 

The inspection of the sample files found that, of people at the end of their sentences whom UKBA was trying to deport, 97% remained incarcerated either in prisons or Immigration Removal Centres. 

It also found that “(t)he average length of detention had increased from 143 days in February 2010 to 190 days in January 2011, and 27 per cent of all foreign national prisoners who were detained after their custodial sentence had been detained for longer than 12 months.” (page 3)

While acknowledging the complexity of decision making UKBA might be faced with, the report nevertheless states that ”the sheer weight of cases resulting in detention is of concern and, in our view, there remains a culture that detention is ‘the norm’” (page 22).            

In January 2012, The Detention Forum will be hosting a talk by John Vine, Independent Chief Inspector of the UKBA, on  the forthcoming inspection report on the Detained Fast Track.  If you would like to be kept informed, please contact Eiri Ohtani at detentionforum(at)gmail.com. 

The Detention Forum is hosting a talk by Michelle Brané, Director of Women’s Refugee Commission’s Detention and Asylum Programme.  She will be talking about the current NGO thinking and movement for developing alternatives to detention in the US. 

You can find out more about Michelle here http://www.womenscommission.org/press-room/1088-michelle-brane-named-one-of-womens-e-news-21-leaders-for-the-21st-century  She also sits on the International Advisory Committee of International Detention Coalition. 

The talk will take place on Monday 21 Nov 2011 between 3pm and 4pm at Asylum Aid in London. Places are limited, so please RSVP if you would like to come. Please contact Eiri Ohtani at detentionforum(at)gmail.com to book your place.

21 October 2011

The Detention Forum is hosting another Parliamentary meeting on immigration detention on 7^th December 2011.  The meeting will be chaired by Dr Julian Huppert MP.

The last meeting in June was attended by 10 Parliamentarians and three researchers who work for MPs.  Issues such as the detention of vulnerable adults and indefinite detention were discussed.   

Over the next few weeks, some of the NGOs involved in the Detention Forum will be writing to their MPs and Peers that they are in touch with, urging them to attend the meeting. 

The agenda for the December meeting will be confirmed towards the end of November to ensure that timely issues are going to be discussed at the meeting.  December sees the publication of the inspection report on the Detained Fast Track by the Independent Chief Inspector of UKBA, as well as Human Rights Review 2011 by Equality and Human Rights Commission.  Both of which will present great opportunities for NGOs to speak to the Parliamentarians and highlight the need to scrutinise UK’s practice of immigration detention. 

If you would like know more about these meetings or receive a copy of the minutes of the last meeting, please contact Eiri Ohtani at detentionforum(at)gmail.com. 

12 October 2011

The human rights record of the UK will once again be scrutinised by the Human Rights Council next year.  This presents a great opportunity to highlight British immigration detention issues at the international level.  The Universal Periodic Review reviews all UN member states’ compliance with human rights every four years.  UK was reviewed in 2008 and is up for review again next year between 21st May and 1st June 2012.  During the review process, the UK government officials will be quizzed by other states’ representatives about their human rights record.

In theory, there are many ways that NGOs can influence this process.  The UPR Info website contains useful information on how NGOs can participate in this process.  However, given the limited time and resources available to many of the national NGOs who do not have a Geneva presence, the most likely route for those of us concerned about detention in the UK is to submit information to the OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) before the review process starts.  When UK was reviewed in 2008, it appears that only 25 submissions were made.

A quick look at the previous session shows that the immigration detention of adults did not get much mention, while child detention was referred to by some stakeholders.

If your organisation would like to submit information on detention issues, the deadline for the submission is 21 November 2011.  The guidelines you need to follow are available on this page from UPR Info http://www.upr-info.org/-NGOs-.html

All the documents regarding the last UK session are available from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/gbsession1.aspx

For more information generally about the UPR, visit the OHCHR website at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPRMain.aspx

or visit the website of UPR-info here http://www.upr-info.org/

In the UK context, the British Institute of Human Rights is hosting a number of UPR events in Cardiff (20 October), Leeds (31 October) and London (2 November). Their webpage also includes a lot of useful information about UPR processes.  It also says “BIHR will produce a short submission and some of the views captured in the events may be included in this.”  For more
information, visit: http://www.bihr.org.uk/news/your-chance-to-comment-on-the-government’s-human-rights-record

The Detention Forum Co-ordination Group will be also preparing a submission, and will be inviting other NGOs to sign it.  If you want to be kept informed of its progress, please contact Eiri Ohtani at detentionforum(at)gmail.com.