news > news releases 2003
News
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asylum in the media
Asylum dominates the national headlines - but there is another side to the story that goes largely untold.
Press Release
27 Nov 03 - Refugee Action urges government to reconsider proposals
Refugee Action is urging the government to reconsider proposals for a new asylum bill as announced in the Queen’s Speech yesterday, and instead to allow the existing system to adjust to recent changes.
Press Release
14 Nov 03 - Unlocking the trap of illegal working
One of the UK’s leading refugee agencies has welcomed proposals from the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, to allow some migrants forced into the hidden economy to join the mainstream jobs market.
Statement
28 Aug 03 - Asylum statistics
"Causing suffering to asylum seekers once they are in the UK does not deter new arrivals – it just shames us as a society by forcing refugees to sleep rough on city streets in dangerous, degrading and inhuman conditions."
Statement
20 June 03 - Regional protection zones
“Refugee Action cautiously welcomes proposals for regional protection zones if and in so far as they are firmly rooted in a true commitment on the part of the UK’s government to foster human rights and extend access to refugee protection. Nevertheless, many questions remain about how such a programme would be implemented."
Statement
July 03 - A joint statement on the withdrawal of asylum support for in-country applicants
by Refugee Action, The Refugee Council, Oxfam, Shelter, Liberty, Crisis, JCWI, Refugee Legal Centre, ILPA and Migrant Helpline: "In our view the restrictive interpretation of Section 55 is causing homelessness and threatens to force many asylum seekers onto the streets, undermining Government strategies tackling rough sleepers, promoting social cohesion and reducing exclusion."
Press Release
01 June 03 - Return of Iraqi refugees premature, warns charity
One of the country’s leading refugee charities with specialist experience in advising refugees thinking about return to their country of origin has today cautioned the government not to forcibly return Iraqi asylum seekers.
Statement
22 May 03 - Asylum statistics
"Global political events and the violation of human rights are the main factors that determine the number of asylum applications. These new figures show that changing circumstances in Iraq and Afghanistan – countries from which most asylum applicants came last year – have had a significant effect on asylum numbers here."
Press Release
07 April 03 - Inspiring testimonies of Vietnamese ‘boat people’ to be preserved for posterity
A unique project that preserves the experiences of Vietnamese refugees who settled in Britain two generations ago will be launched at the British Library in London today.
Press Release
02 March 03 - Refugee rights at risk, warns charity
One of the country’s leading agencies working with asylum seekers has today warned that the human rights of asylum seekers hang in the balance. The Court of Appeal is preparing to decide tomorrow whether or not recent legislation that strips ‘late’ asylum applicants of all welfare support breaches their human rights.
Statement
19 Feb 03 - High Court asylum ruling
"We are delighted with this ruling - it’s a tremendous day for the human rights of asylum seekers. Asylum seekers have done nothing wrong in seeking safety here yet they have been subjected to humiliating and degrading treatment, forced to go hungry and homeless at the height of winter, by this appalling piece of legislation."
Newspaper article
31 Jan 03 - On the front line
Mel Pickett is deputy manager of Refugee Action’s asylum advice team in Southampton. Here Mel describes what life is really like on the front line of advice work with vulnerable asylum seekers in the city, especially those affected by new measures contained in the latest National, Immigration and Asylum Act.
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