Nigerian gay rights activist wins UK asylum claim after 13-year battle – The Guardian

Posted August 14th, 2017 in appeals, asylum, homosexuality, human rights, immigration, news, refugees by sally

‘The Home Office has granted refugee status to a prominent Nigerian LGBT activist, ending a 13-year battle over her right to remain in the UK.’

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The Guardian, 14th August 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Coroner calls for changes to treatment of child refugees after death of teenager – The Guardian

Posted July 6th, 2017 in children, coroners, immigration, news, refugees, young persons by sally

‘A coroner has called for changes to the way Home Office officials in Calais and Dunkirk deal with vulnerable child refugees after a 17-year-old Kurdish refugee fled Isis in Iraq only to be crushed under the wheels of a lorry while trying to seek sanctuary in the UK.’

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The Guardian, 5th July 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

In depth look at the new Home Office settlement policy for refugees after five years – Free Movement

Posted June 23rd, 2017 in government departments, immigration, news, refugees by tracey

‘In March 2017 the Home Office has announced a new policy of reviewing whether all refugees require protection at the end of a 5 year initial period of Refugee Status. This policy is effective for all existing and future applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain (“ILR”) as a Refugee. This policy has now been effective for three months and, with Refugee Week upon us, it is a good opportunity to delve into it in greater detail.’

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Free Movement, 22nd June 2017

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Refugee campaigners launch legal challenge over Home Office ‘failure’ to implement Dubs scheme – The Independent

‘Campaigners have launched a High Court challenge against the Government over the number of unaccompanied child refugees accepted into the UK under the Dubs scheme.’

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The Independent, 20th June 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

NI Abortion Refugees: further thoughts – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Was it unlawful for the Secretary of State for Health, who had power to make provisions for the functioning of the National Health Service in England, to have failed to make a provision which would have enabled women who were citizens of the UK, but who were usually resident in Northern Ireland, to undergo a termination of pregnancy under the NHS in England free of charge?’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 15 June 2017

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

UK unlawfully denies transfer to UK of refugees living for 18 years in Cyprus British Sovereign Base – Free Movement

Posted June 6th, 2017 in appeals, armed forces, immigration, news, refugees, treaties by tracey

‘R (Bashir) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWCA Civ 397. The British Sovereign Base Areas (“SBAs”) are small British-run areas on the Cyprus islands that survived the former colony’s independence. The Home Office has taken the position for a number of years that the Refugee Convention does not apply there. The Court of Appeal has unanimously held that in doing so, then-Home Secretary Theresa May acted unlawfully in denying refugees from the SBAs access to the UK.’

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Free Movement, 6th June 2017

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Supreme Court backs decision of reviewing officer over accommodation offer – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Supreme Court has upheld a reviewing officer’s decision that it was reasonable for a refugee to accept an offer of accommodation which she claimed reminded her of prison in Iran.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th May 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The ‘robot lawyer’ giving free legal advice to refugees – BBC News

Posted March 9th, 2017 in artificial intelligence, asylum, computer programs, news, refugees by sally

‘A technology initially used to fight traffic fines is now helping refugees with legal claims.’

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BBC News, 9th March 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judge rules against council over refusal to accommodate before age assessment – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 28th, 2017 in asylum, children, housing, immigration, news, refugees by tracey

‘A local authority did not have good reason for departing from statutory guidance requiring it to provide accommodation and support to an unaccompanied young person pending a lawful age assessment, a High Court judge has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 27th February 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Home Office agrees to review asylum claims of child refugees in France – The Guardian

Posted February 20th, 2017 in asylum, children, EC law, France, government departments, immigration, news, refugees by sally

‘The Home Office has agreed to review asylum applications from child refugees in France after it emerged that several had returned to the site of the former Calais camp in a renewed effort to make the crossing to the UK.’

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The Guardian, 19th February 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

High Court challenge to UK’s child refugee efforts – BBC News

Posted February 10th, 2017 in children, news, refugees by tracey

‘A high court challenge to Amber Rudd’s decision to close the Dubs scheme for lone child refugees after resettling only 350 from Europe is to be heard in early May.’

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The Guardian, 10th February 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Home Office Eritrea guidance softened to reduce asylum seeker numbers – The Guardian

Posted January 23rd, 2017 in asylum, children, documents, human rights, immigration, news, refugees by sally

‘The government downplayed the risk of human rights abuses in one of the world’s most repressive regimes in an attempt to reduce asylum seeker numbers despite doubts from its own experts, internal documents have revealed.’

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The Guardian, 22nd January 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Home Office ordered to review policy on torture survivors – The Guardian

‘Hundreds of asylum seekers who are detained in UK immigration centres could be released after a high court judge ordered the government to review its policy on incarcerated torture survivors.’

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The Guardian, 21st November 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Cardiff teenager faces fight to avoid being sent back to Afghanistan – The Guardian

Posted November 11th, 2016 in Afghanistan, news, refugees, young persons by tracey

‘Thousands of people, politicians, celebrities and refugee charities have backed a campaign to stop a teenager who fled to Britain from Afghanistan as a 10-year-old after his father was murdered from being forcibly removed to the country of his birth.’

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The Guardian, 10th November 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Home Office rules out ‘inaccurate, inappropriate and unethical’ dental checks to verify age of Calais refugee children – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 20th, 2016 in children, dentists, news, refugees by tracey

‘The Home Office has ruled out calls for dental checks to verify the age of Calais migrants arriving in Britain because they are deemed “inaccurate, inappropriate and unethical”.’

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Daily Telegraph, 19th October 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

UK failing on many human rights measures, report claims – The Guardian

Posted September 22nd, 2016 in children, human rights, news, prisons, refugees, reports, stop and search, United Nations by sally

‘The UK has failed to meet many human rights recommendations made by the United Nations and should do more to prevent prison overcrowding, tackle hate crimes and restrict stop and search powers, a coalition of 175 civil society organisations claims.’

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The Guardian, 22nd September 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Duties of Local Authorities to Unaccompanied Migrant Children – Family Law Week

Posted September 9th, 2016 in care orders, children, EC law, local government, news, refugees by tracey

‘Jennifer Kotilaine, barrister of 42 Bedford Row, analyses the duties of local authorities to unaccompanied migrant children in the light of the House of Lords European Union Select Committee’s recent critical report on the subject.’

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Family Law Week, 1st September 2016

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

New Home Office API on Gay Asylum Claims: Not Fit For Purpose – Free Movement

‘The new Asylum Policy Instruction on Sexual Orientation Issues in the Asylum Claim, published last Wednesday, marks an unwelcome retrograde step for the Home Office, which still continues to apply the ‘voluntary discretion test’ to gay asylum claims, even though this has been held to be unlawful, as a matter of EU law, since July 2015. Having made positive strides with respect to the quality of decision-making since the public outcry over the sexually explicit methods of questioning gay asylum seekers in February 2014, in August 2016 this API will lead to sub-standard and unlawful decisions by the Home Office, and arguably Courts and Tribunals who rely on the API, leading to devastating outcomes to those returned to countries where they will suffer persecution.’

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Free Movement, 8th August 2016

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Migrant children are being failed by UK, says Lords committee report – The Guardian

Posted July 26th, 2016 in asylum, children, detention, immigration, news, refugees, reports, select committees by sally

‘The UK is shirking its responsibility to care for thousands of unaccompanied migrant children, dismissing them as “somebody else’s problem”, a report has concluded.’

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The Guardian, 26th July 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The Human Right Not To Hide. Celebrating The Anniversary Of A Landmark LGBTQ Case – RightsInfo

‘Six years ago tomorrow [7 July], the UK Supreme Court said that gay people should not have to hide their sexuality in order to avoid persecution in their home country.’

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RightsInfo, 6th July 2016

Source: www.rightsinfo.org