Weekly News Round Up

United Kingdom

UKBA (15/03/10): Brentford company faces fine of £90,000

IRR News (15/03/10): Fighting anti-Muslim racism: an interview with A. Sivanandan

The Independent (15/03/10): Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: Our asylum policy is a national disgrace

The Observer (14/03/10): UK 'ignoring' systemic evidence of torture among asylum seekers

The Observer (14/03/10): We punish those we should protect

The Observer (14/03/10): Asylum deportation flights need rights monitors, EU says

The Daily Telegraph (13/03/10): Backlash at the mosque

The Guardian (13/03/10): 'I'm not a slave, I just can't speak English' – life in the meat industry

The Guardian (13/03/10): Violence and abuse rife in food factories

The Guardian (13/03/10): Sky-high Glasgow dreams that turned into a nightmare

BBC News (13/03/10): Hundreds attend tower block 'suicide' rally 

The Daily Telegraph (13/03/10): Ian McEwan: Criticising Islam is not racist

The Daily Telegraph (12/03/10): Asylum seekers complaints of assaults by Home Office security staff 'not properly investigated'

BBC News (12/03/10): Handcuff restraint of asylum seekers criticised 

The Guardian (12/03/10): The bigger picture on asylum

The Guardian (12/03/10): Officials failed to investigate asylum detainee abuse claims – report

The Independent (12/03/10): Forced Deportations Report: Asylum-seekers abused by security guards, says report

UKBA (12/03/10): Three illegal workers arrested at a car wash in Maidstone

UKBA (12/03/10):  Government ramps up passenger screening

The Guardian (12/03/10): Red Road deaths: a tragedy of asylum, mental health and Russian intrigue

UKBA (11/03/10): E-Borders system helps identify drug smuggler at Gatwick Airport

Refugee and Migrant Justice (11/03/10): Process for removing asylum seekers lacks accountability and ‘will get worse’

The Daily Telegraph (11/03/10): 'Gaping hole' in rules on foreign doctors, GMC says

The Daily Telegraph (11/03/10): House of Lords employed illegal immigrant as catering worker

The Guardian (10/03/10): Our asylum system's fatal failures

The Independent (10/03/10): Lumley named in row over Gurkha charity

The Independent (10/03/10): Call for inquiry into Glasgow tower suicidesThe Independent 

UKBA (09/03/10): Refugees' route to citizenship

Refugee and Migrant Justice (09/03/10): Detainees at Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre held unlawfully

Refugee Council (09/03/10): Government publishes consultation on charging foreign nationals for healthcare – some refused asylum seekers will now be exempt

BBC News (09/03/10): Vigil held for tower block deaths

BBC News (08/03/10): 'I fear every knock on my door' 

UKBA (08/03/10):  Minister attends immigration debate in Wakefield


World

ICRC (15/03/10): Bangladesh: aid for victims of violence

BBC News (13/03/10): Mogadishu residents told to leave Somali capital 

Amnesty International (11/03/10): Italian authorities urged to stop forced evictions of Roma  See Also: Amnesty' snew briefing paper - Italy: The wrong answer: Italy's 'Nomad Plan' violates the housing rights of Roma in Rome (EUR 30/001/2010 - 11 March 2010).

ICRC (10/03/10): Sudan: violence threatens civilians in the south

BBC News (09/03/10): Bangladesh 'ignoring plight' of starving Burma refugees
Refugees International (03/03/10): The Global Implications of Climate Migration

"Untermenschen" and "Asylum Seekers." Refugees and Economic Migrants Conference

The following conference, organised by Meretz UK, will take place on Sunday 24 January in London.  The conference is entitled: "Untermenschen" and "Asylum Seekers." Refugees and Economic Migrants" and full information and detaills on how to book can be found by following the link below:


"Untermenschen" and "Asylum Seekers." Refugees and Economic Migrants Conference - http://britishmeretz.blogspot.com/2009/11/untermenschen-and-asylum-seekers.html

Refugee Archive Newsletter (02 December 2009)

Refugee Archive Newsletter

This newsletter is produced on a regular basis to help disseminate news and further information in relation to refugee and forced migration issues. The newsletter is produced by the Refugee Archives service at the University of East London. This will also be available via our Refugee Studies Blog at: http://refugee-archives.blogspot.com/

News and Media Stories

Iraq Inquiry

The Daily Telegraph (01/12/09): Iraq inquiry: Tony Blair asked for war plans to be prepared in June 2002

The Independent (01/12/09): I did not bully Lord Goldsmith, insists Blair

The Independent (30/11/09): Ministers fear Iraq backlash will lose Labour the election

The Daily Telegraph (27/11/09): Iraq inquiry: war ‘not legitimate’, Sir Jeremy Greenstock tells inquiry

The Times (27/11/09): Blair may have ‘signed in blood’ to topple Saddam a year before war

The Independent (26/1109): Iraq: The inquiry cover-up that will keep us in the dark

The Independent (26/11/09): Officials knew WMD evidence was tainted

The Independent (26/11/09): Adrian Hamilton: The one thing Chilcot won't reveal is the truth

The Times (26/11/09): Blair 'knew Saddam did not have WMD before war started'

The Daily Telegraph (25/11/09): Iraq inquiry: Tony Blair told ‘days before invasion’ WMD had been dismantled

The Times (25/11/09): US ‘drumbeats’ about Iraq invasion were heard months before 9/11

The Independent (24/11/09): Iraq invasion discussed in 2001 – but was dismissed as illegal

The Daily Telegraph (24/11/09): Iraq inquiry: Britain rejected regime change as illegal in 2001

Swiss Minarets Vote

The Guardian (01/12/09): Letters: Swiss minarets and democracy

IRR News (30/11/09): Swiss poll crushes minarets

The Independent (30/11/09): Swiss voters back right-wing minaret ban

The Guardian (30/11/09): Swiss minarets: is EU following Arabs down path of self-pity and xenophobia?

The Guardian (30/11/09): Switzerland: Hatred beneath the harmony

Refugees and Asylum Related Stories

Amnesty International (02/12/09): Victims of Peru Amazon violence deserve justice without discrimination

The Independent (02/12/09): Tamils on the road as Sri Lanka opens refugee camps

The Independent (02/12/09): 'Historic' ruling on secret evidence

The Guardian (01/12/09): Blow to home secretary as terror suspects win secret evidence case

Amnesty International (01/12/09): Sri Lankan government must permanently release all civilians

Refugee Council Poliblog (30/11/09): Two takes on Issues facing asylum seeking women...

UK Home Office Press Release (30/11/09) National identity card launched in Manchester

The Guardian (30/11/09): We need a gender-sensitive asylum system

The Observer (29/11/09): Detention of children at immigration 'prisons' attacked by MPs

Amnesty International (27/11/09): Commonwealth leaders must focus on Sri Lanka crisis

Refugee Council News (27/11/09): Safety of child asylum seekers given boost after court ruling

UK Home Office Press Release (27/11/09): Home Office minister welcomes increased Chinese cooperation to tackle serious crime and migration issues

The Guardian (27/11/09): Lady Scotland's ex-housekeeper charged with immigration offences

The Daily Telegraph (27/11/09): Hidden threat from al-Qaeda sleeper cells

BBC News (27/11/09): Khmer Rouge chief Duch stuns court with release bid

The Independent (27/11/09): Why Conservatives failed the test on Islamic schools

IRR News (26/11/09): Dickensian poverty in the twenty-first century

UK Home Office Press Release (26/11/09): Immigration and asylum statistics released

(Further details on Publications below).

The Guardian (26/11/09): Net migration falls by one-third

The Independent (26/11/09): Can a Muslim say happy Christmas to his friends?

ICRC News (25/11/09): Red Cross Red Crescent issues universal call to action to tackle today's humanitarian challenges

The Independent (25/11/09): Congolese 'warlords' deny slaughtering entire villages

The Guardian (24/11/09): The brutal truth of child detention



New Reports and Publications

Asylum Aid, the national independent charity who work with those seeking to flee human rights violations abroad, have issued a new report entitled `Every Single Woman.’ This is published under the banner of the Charter of Rights of Women Seeking Asylum which, in the words of Asylum Aid, `calls on the UK Border Agency to commit to treating women seeking asylum with fairness, dignity and respect. This means creating a system which recognises the particular issues which cause women to seek asylum and understands their particular needs as women.’ Details of the new puiblication and the Charter can be found as follows:

i) Every Single Woman – campaigning brief (16p.)

ii) Every Single Woman – extended brief (26p.)

iii) Every Single Woman – Watch the Film.

iv) Charter of Rights of Women Seeking Asylum – the Charter and accompanying website.

Further Information: 'We need a gender-sensitive asylum system' Debora Singer in The Guardian

Group Denial: Repression of Kurdish Political and Cultural Rights in Syria
Produced by Human Rights Watch
Available to read online and to order in hard copy at: http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/11/26/group-denial

Details from Human Rights Watch:

“This 63-page report documents the Syrian authorities' efforts to ban and disperse gatherings calling for Kurdish minority rights or celebrating Kurdish culture, as well as the detention of leading Kurdish political activists and their ill-treatment in custody. The repression of Kurds in Syria has greatly intensified following large-scale Kurdish demonstrations in March 2004. The report is based on interviews with 30 Kurdish activists recently released from prison, as well as 15 relatives of Kurdish activists still in jail. The Syrian government refused to reply to requests for information or meetings with Human Rights Watch.”

A Press Release is also available. http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/11/26/syria-end-persecution-kurds

Amnesty International has recently published the following campaign digest on the violence and discrimination experience by women in Yemen:

Yemen’s dark side: Discrimination and violence against women and girls (campaign digest)

Index Number: MDE 31/014/2009 ; Date Published: 25 November 2009

Available online in PDF format at: Yemen’s dark side: Discrimination and violence against women and girls

A news brief is also available entitled `Yemeni women face violence and discrimination.'

The UK Home Office has recently published its Control of Immigration statistics for the Third Quarter of 2009. A direct link to the PDF is available by clicking on the title below, and further information is available from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics page at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html

Direct Link to PDF file: Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary, United Kingdom - Third Quarter 2009

Still with the Home Office, the Refugee Council Poliblog posting on the 30^th November entitled `Two takes on Issues facing asylum seeking women...' (detailed above), refers to two recently published documents on dealing with violence against women. These have been published by the UK Home Office and the voluntary organisation Rights for Women, and full details of both will be detailed as follows:

1) Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Girls: a Strategy (PDF file - 1mb - Warning: large file) Published by the Home Office who state that, ` This cross-government strategy sets out a range of actions for the police, councils, the NHS and other government departments across three key areas: prevention, provision and protection.” Additional annexes to the main report are also available: Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Girls: Annexes to the Strategy (PDF file - 630kb) ; and an introduction to the report can be found on the Home Office web page entitled: ` Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Girls: a Strategy.’

2) Seeking Refuge? A handbook for asylum-seeking women is a recently published handbook produced by the voluntary organisation Rights of Women, whose role is to work with women to help empower their legal rights. Further details of the organisation and information on their work and related resources can be found on their website at: http://www.rightsofwomen.org.uk/

Posted in News and Publications.

Refugee Council Policy Briefing

Updated Policy Publication:

Right to work : Social Exclusion, Refugee Integration, and the Right to Work for Asylum Seekers [July 2007] http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/policy/briefings/2007/righttowork.htm

Asylum Seekers from Nepal

UNHCR's Position on the International Protection Needs of Asylum-Seekers from Nepal July 2007 is now available via Refworld at:

http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=46af032d2

Women and Asylum

The Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees in the UK (ICAR) has just released a new briefing paper entitled Women Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the UK. This briefing paper is available to download from the ICAR website and further details can be found at:

Web: http://www.icar.org.uk/briefings_womens

ICAR state that "This briefing addresses four key issues relating to refugee women: the introduction of gender guidelines, female genital mutilation (FGM), the trafficking of women and women in detention. The briefing aims to complement ICAR’s Navigation Guide on Women Asylum Seekers and Refugees in the UK, which provides a broader overview of this subject."

Latest WTYL Update

This digest has been compiled by Helen Carpenter (Welcome to Your Library) and John Vincent (The Network). To send a message to all subscribers e-mail wtyl@jiscmail.ac.uk. To contact Helen Carpenter and/or John Vincent use e-mail addresses at the end of this digest

WTYL News (1)
Warmest congratulations to Mike Prendergast, Community Services Manager in Southwark Libraries, one of the partners in WTYL. He has just won the hotly contested STARS 2007 award (Southwark Top Achievers Recognition Scheme) for "Community Service of the Year" for his work in "development of new services to encourage many diverse groups' use of libraries."

WTYL News (2)

WTYL Survey 2007

JV will shortly be sending out our survey - do, please, let us know what you think of the Digest!

Conferences

Increasing diversity in Canadian cities: the public library response
11-12 October 2007, Toronto, Canada

http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/culc/
The Canadian Urban Libraries Council, in partnership with Toronto Public Library, is holding this conference to explore diversity, social integration and social cohesion, and the critical role of public libraries in Canada’s rapidly changing urban environment.

Libraries play an important role in the creation of healthy, vibrant cities and the adaptation and integration of newcomers. This conference will explore and demonstrate that contribution. Join library leadership, staff and trustees from across Canada, international delegates from Germany and Denmark, politicians, key policy makers and partners to learn, discuss and debate. See weblink above for full programme and registration information.

Events/courses
Mapping Provision and Matching Needs of Community Language Speakers in Higher Education
Wed 18 Jul 2007, School of Oriental and African Studies, Khalili Lecture Theatre, London, 9.30-5pm
(Source: www.refed.org.uk)
http://www.rln-westmidlands.com/Events/mappingprovision_communitylanguages.aspx
More information or to book at place at this workshop and seminar see weblink above.

Funding opportunities

Access To Learning Award

(Source: John Lake, City of London Libraries)

www.gatesfoundation.org/GlobalDevelopment/GlobalLibraries/
Link to brochures about The Access to Learning Award [ATLA] of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ($1 million US) which recognises programmes such as providing free internet access to the public. The deadline for the 2008 award is 31 December 2007.

Consultations
London enriched: the mayor's draft strategy for refugee integration in London
http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/equalities/immigration/strategy.jsp
The Mayor now seeks views on the draft strategy. Full details at weblink above. Consultation period runs from now to 29 October 2007. Although there is a brief mention of public libraries in the full document, I would encourage any public libraries/refugees actively working together in London to put in a response.

Exhibitions
Refuge: photography and personal stories that challenge myths around asylum
http://www.novas.org/arts/refugee,61,PAR.html
To 21 Jul, Novas Contemporary Urban Centre, London SE1
Showcases the works of three exceptional photographers - Ilham Hamood, Robin Taudevin and Claudia Janke. Full details at weblink above.

Resources

Integration and cohesion case studies

http://www.integrationandcohesion.org.uk/upload/assets/www.integrationandcohesion.org.uk/integration_and_cohesion_case_studies.pdf

In addition to the main report (noted in WTYL Digest 18 June 2007), the Commission on Integration & Cohesion have also published a separate document with case studies, including “Refugees into Libraries” (Leicester) and “Libraries Connect” (Hull).

Obstacles to accountability: challenging the immigration detention of families

(Source: IRR Weekly Digest)

http://www.biduk.org/pdf/children/BIDFamilyHandbookFINAL.pdf

The aim of this new handbook from the organisation Bail for Immigration Detainees is to provide up-to-date analysis of current detention policy and practice to inform campaigners, lawyers, human rights organisations and parliamentarians who wish to challenge family detention.

Forced to flee

http://www.theworkcontinues.org/downloads/Forced%20to%20Flee%203%20Web%20PDF%20version.pdf

(Source: IRR Weekly Digest)

The 3^rd edition of Refugee Action Group’s FAQs about refugees and asylum-seekers in Northern Ireland has just been published.

Culture on demand

http://www.culture.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/9C6750DA-8C19-4254-91B7-0F0FCA786750/0/CultureOnDemand.pdf

New report from DCMS, which looks at what drives demands for culture from people in the Public Service Agreement priority groups (BME communities, disabled people, lower socio-economic groups) – includes positive references to work in libraries - including Leicester - (and museums and archives).

Background reading

The impact of recent immigration on the London economy

(Source: IRR Weekly Digest)

http://213.86.34.248/NR/rdonlyres/38C39C11-76CB-4198-A4AC-26E2FFD341D1/0/BC_RS_immigration_ES.pdf (Executive Summary)

Report from the LSE for the City of London looks at the pattern of migration to London, and highlights issues that need to be addressed.

Best wishes

Helen Carpenter John Vincent
Project Co-ordinator The Network
Welcome To Your Library t/f: 0845 128 4897
t/f: 020 7641 5266 e: john@nadder.org.uk
e: helen.carpenter@llda.org.uk w: www.seapn.org.uk
w: http://www.welcometoyourlibrary.org.uk