16/12/11 13:22
A campaign to urge States to pledge to end the detention of refugee and asylum-seeking children took place during a Ministerial meeting of UN Member States 7 – 8 December. Those involved in the campaign includes 50 NGOs including ECRE Members, national Amnesty International sections and IDC Members in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and Poland.
Unsurprisingly, the UK government does not support the campaign.
All those that do firmly believe that children, and in particular unaccompanied or separated children, should never be detained solely for immigration purposes given that immigration detention cannot be said to be in their best interests.
The campaign continues. Tags: Detention, Deportation, Removals, EC
15/12/11 12:33
Lindholme IRC, located approximately 10 miles north of Doncaster, is part of Lindholme Prison and is run by the Prison Service. The UK Border Agency leased the centre in 2000 in order to detain adult males over the age of 21. Following a request by the Prison Service for the UK Border Agency return Lindholme IRC back to them a managed reduction in the numbers of detainees will take place during a wind-down of the centre. The aim is to close the centre by 31 January 2012.
Detainees will not be released, but will instead be transferred to other centres.
Tags: Detention, Deportation, Removals
02/08/11 09:21
According to fell detainees, a man who was about to be deported has killed himself at Campsfield House. The 35 year old hanged himself in a toilet block hours before he was due to be forcibly removed. The Home Office confirmed that a 35-year-old man had died stating:
"The UK Border Agency is in the process of contacting his family and our sympathies are with them at this time. The police and prisons and probation ombudsman are investigating the matter, as is the norm, and we are cooperating fully with their investigations."
Campsfield House holds 200 asylum seekers and foreign prisoners and was the scene for protests in the past over conditions and the length of detention and method used to force returns. These are ongoing concerns for all detention centres and it is unfortunately not the first time that a detainee has committed suicide or suffered due to the method of forced removals which often involves dangerous and inappropriate techniques. Changes are long overdue.
Tags: Deportation, Detention
26/05/11 11:42
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that Italy is in breach of EU law, and in particular the Returns Directive, by administering up to 4 years of imprisonment for third country nationals illegally staying in Italy who have received an order to leave.
Where the Returns Directive allows for the use of detention, it must always be for the purpose of enforcing a return decision. The detention period must be as short as possible, and never exceed 18 months.
The judgement can be found
here.
Tags: CJEU, EC, Detention
18/05/11 09:07
The Deputy Prime Minister, as part of his
speech to mark the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the formation of the Refugee Council in the UK, said the policy of detaining children has stopped.
While, the Children's Society produced a new research report called ‘What Have I Done? The experiences of children and families in UK immigration detention' which examines the experiences of 32 families detained prior to the pledge to end the detention of children.
It emphasises the importance of safeguarding issues around the use of detention and the impact to children, some of the experiences collected include:
- Children witnessing traumatic events, including hunger strikes and suicide attempts and the use of restraint on their parents.
- High levels of stress, fear, confusion, and feelings of hopelessness and degradation experienced by family members in detention.
- Many children did not eat, or lost weight, during detention. Families had medication removed upon arrival or missed important medical appointments as a consequence of detention. One child was detained for a second time despite suffering from post traumatic stress disorder after her first detention.
- The majority of children experienced emotional distress during detention, including sleeplessness, nightmares and constant crying.
- After release from detention, the majority of families experienced on-going and persistent effects on their mental and emotional health.
You can find the report, and more about the Children's Society, at their website
here.
Tags: Deputy PM, Detention, Children, Children's Society, Charity
09/11/10 23:56
The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, faces fresh embarrassment today over a new Home Office postponement of the pledge to end the detention of children in immigration removal centres.
Read More...Tags: Detention, Nick Clegg, IRCS, Policy
21/07/10 22:06
UPDATE: The family wing of Yarl's Wood is to close. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the move was part of the government's commitment to end child detention for immigration purposes.
Read More...07/07/10 22:13
David Cameron opened an inquiry to establish whether the British Government and its intelligence agencies were involved in improper treatment of detainees held by other countries, and if so, to what extend.
Read More...Tags: Detention, Enquiry
26/05/10 21:14
Britain has the largest network of immigration detention centres in Europe...
Read More...