Immigration: In Brief (1)
01 November 1992
Removals: A mother of seven children was deported to India in September although her children were prohibited by court order from leaving Britain. The Home Office refused the mother's request to delay her deportation for a few days to enable her to apply to lift the court ban on her children travelling with her. The woman, who had been in Britain for nine years, was declared an illegal immigrant.
Independent 19.9.92.
UN guidelines ignored: A Tamil asylum-seeker is to be deported in breach of UN guidelines. David Vigna, who had served a six- year sentence for drug smuggling, claimed he could not be deported to Sri Lanka, where he had been tortured by security forces. Medical reports supported his claim. The Home Office said he could be returned to Colombo, in the south of Sri Lanka, despite UNHCR guidelines which say that Tamils cannot be returned to the south "in safety and dignity". A High Court judge endorsed the deportation, saying that the Home Office was not bound to follow the guidance.
Independent 12.10.92.
No sanctuary: The Home Office tried to turn away a raped and tortured Angolan asylum-seeker whose only living relative, her sister, lived in Britain. She had spent five hours in transit in France, the Home Office said, and she should claim asylum there. The woman had fled Angola with her child after being forced to watch the killing of her husband. She was reprieved and allowed to present her claim in Britain only after the intervention of a solicitor and several social workers and psychiatrists.
Radio 4: Opinion 22.10.92.
Refugees in prison: on 7 October 1992 there were 138 asylum seekers detained in prisons for more than seven days. Of these 32 had been detained for less than one month, 20 for between one and two months, 46 between two and six months and 40 for over six months.
Hansard Commons written answer 19.10.92.
Parallel Dublin Convention: the EC Ministers meeting in June approved a report prepared by the Ad Hoc Group on Immigration setting out a "parallel convention" to the Dublin Convention (which says that a refugee can only apply for asylum to one country in the EC and this is the country they first arrive in and says refugees can be deported to "safe" third countries see Statewatch vol 1 no 4 & vol 2 no 5). The object is to extend the Convention to non-EC states such as the EFTA countries. It is almost identical to the Dublin Convention but with two amendments. The first maintains control by the EC states over a country temporarily opting-out and the second which indicates that signatories to the "parallel convention" will not be included in definitions of "third countries" in applying the Dublin Convention.
Avant-projet de convention parallele a la Convention de Dublin du 15 Jiun 1990 Ad Hoc Group on Immigration 8.5.92.
Migrant workers' rights: the Central-Alpine trade union standing group "Arge der Gewerkschaften/Arge dei Sindacati" (with unions from Germany, Austria and Italy) passed a migrants right declaration at its 9th annual convention in Milan in October. The declaration calls for equality in all areas of work and social life for migrant workers.
Arge AuslanderInnenwahlrecht, Muhlbacherhofweg 5/7 A-5020 Salzburg Austria.