Advocacy Update – 16th October 2024Our fortnightly summary of advocacy and campaigning initiatives, new research, government developments and useful resources from across the asylum, refugee and migration sector. Contact us if you’d like to discuss anything in this bulletin. |
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Lift the Ban We can’t wait to see as many of you as possible at our upcoming online coalition meeting on Monday 21st October, where together we can take stock of the new political landscape we find ourselves in and share future campaigning plans and ideas with each other! Sign up here. We would love campaigners with lived experience to join us in co-organising the upcoming coalition gathering in early 2025. If you would like to be involved in this piece of work, please do get in touch with us at [email protected]. Membership of this organising group will involve attending several online meetings to set the agenda and plan the event. We’ve developed some new resources to engage with MPs, whether they’re new or returning members of Parliament. These resources include:
Sisters Not Strangers, a UK-based coalition of groups that support asylum-seeking and refugee women published a powerful statement to mark World Mental Health Day on the urgent need to Lift the Ban on the right to work for people seeking asylum, which you can read here.
Follow-up letter to the Prime Minister urging a compassionate refugee protection system On 8th July, as covered in The Guardian, 300 organisations and 500 individuals on the frontline of providing support to people seeking asylum within our communities, wrote to the new Prime Minister to congratulate him on his election victory and to urge him to fix our broken asylum system and to protect, rather than punish, people seeking safety. Six weeks later on 22nd August we at Asylum Matters sent him a follow-up letter as we had yet to receive a reply. Today, we have written again to the Prime Minister who has yet to reply to the hundreds of people in the asylum and refugee sector after his first 100 days in office, which you can read and share here. Update: Free bus travel in Scotland The campaigners in Scotland have not given up since the Scottish Government stated in August it was going to reverse its promise to provide free bus travel to people seeking asylum. The Scottish Greens used a recent opportunity to push a debate to reinstate this policy. It was a difficult debate, but in the end, the motion passed for the policy to be introduced by 2026. Right to Remain national demonstration to end detention, 19th October Right to Remain’s These Walls Must Fall and the No to Hassockfield campaign are jointly organising the national demonstration outside Derwentside Immigration Detention Centre on 19 October, calling for closures of all detention centres. More info here Migrant Voice Day of Action against extortionate visa fees – 31st October Keep Halloween free this year and join Migrant Voice on their National Day of Action, highlighting the impact of the current visa and settlement systems on individuals and their families. Sign up for more information here. Fair Begins Here MP engagement toolkit Together with Refugees has created a toolkit and resources to help members engage with their local MP and explain why we need a fair new plan for refugees and start persuading them to take action to help secure it – including signing the Fair Begins Here Parliamentary Promise. Statement and action: Serco’s sponsorship of Black Talent awards A number of organisations have released a statement entitled Serco: stop your racist immigration contracts in the light of the multinational’s sponsorship of the Black Talent awards. Bail for Immigration Detainees are running a related action – access here. |
Channel deaths 2024 is the deadliest year to date in the English Channel, according to the International Organisation for Migration who say that 52 people have lost their lives making the crossing between January and October this year and that more safe and regular routes are urgently needed. Chagos Islands The BBC reports that some of the Tamil people seeking asylum stranded in a camp on Diego Garcia in the Chagos islands since 2021 are to be relocated temporarily to a UN run facility in Romania and potentially from there to the UK, whilst others are to be offered ‘voluntary return’ to Sri Lanka. This follows an announcement that the UK is handing sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius. The outcome of a legal case about the lawfulness of the camp is awaited. Further coverage here. Deadline extended for evidence to ICIBI on Home Office communications The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) has extended the deadline on its call for evidence on Home Office communication to 21st October 2024. This call for evidence is about the ways in which the Home Office makes, maintains and re-establishes contact with people – particularly those without leave to enter or remain in the UK. This includes people seeking asylum, and those on other immigration routes. More info here. Lords committee calls on Government to restore protections for modern slavery victims The House of Lords Committee on the Modern Slavery Act 2015 has published a report that calls on the new Government to restore protections for victims of modern slavery that have been undermined by anti-refugee legislation passed by the previous Government. Coverage here and report here. |
Protecting the Mental Health of People Seeking Sanctuary in the UK’s evolving legislative landscape This report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists addresses the profound implications of the immigration legislation introduced by the previous Government for the mental health of those seeking protection and contains recommendations for the Government, psychiatrists, trusts and integrated care partnerships and clinicians. Coverage here Refused? Experiences following a negative asylum decision report This new research report published by NACCOM shows that people who are refused asylum in the UK, in many cases unjustly, can face extreme hardship, including destitution, homelessness and declining physical and mental health, following a negative decision on their asylum claim. The report has been designed, led and delivered by NACCOM’s volunteer Community Researchers, who all have lived experiences of destitution and immigration control. Good Decision-Making in Age Assessments Young Roots has launched a new report on age disputes, co-written with Immigration Social Work Services and Public Law Project. The report provides a snapshot of how age assessment decisions are made across England, complete with trends, flaws, good practice and suggested improvements. It offers a range of recommendations based on the research findings to help improve age assessment decision-making, support social workers in producing better quality assessments, and enable a fairer experience for young people undergoing this process. IMB recommends closure of Gatwick detention facility The Independent Monitoring Board for the “family detention unit pre-departure accommodation” at Gatwick airport has recommended the closure of the facility. In its annual report it expressed concerns about the fairness and humanity of detaining families with children, the risks of adding to trauma, children being exposed to parents’ distress and being put at risk. Coverage here and here. Fear and Hope 2024: the case for community resilience Hope Not Hate have published their latest Fear and Hope report, tracking changes in attitudes since their first report in 2011 and making the case for community resilience. Employment Rights Bill: Tackle Restrictive Visas or Increase Inequality Briefing Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX) has published a briefing on this new Bill. It highlights how it fails to give meaningful access to vital protections for thousands of some of the most at-risk workers and gives recommendations on how it could be amended. An Uncertain Future: UNHCR report on refugee experiences during the move-on period UNHCR have published a new report that outlines the challenges that often leave newly recognised refugees at risk of homelessness and financial hardship. The report draws on experiences from refugees and supporting organisations to make recommendations for improving the process and ensuring a better start for refugees in the UK. You can read the full report here. |
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