International Refugee News

November 14 – 17, 2000

Tory plans to lock up all asylum-seekers on arrival in Britain were in disarray last night after Ann Widdecombe admitted that initially she could detain scarcely more than one in ten refugees. The Shadow Home Secretary acknowledged that an incoming Conservative government would encounter difficulties in building detention centres but insisted that she would overcome opposition. At present, the Immigration Service is seeking to increase capacity for detaining asylum-seekers from 1,000 to 3,000. The Home Office estimates that it would have to build up to 50 detention centres and increase capacity to about 25,000 if it had to implement Conservative policies. Widdecombe said that initially she would detain only those from the so-called "white list" of safe countries, which her aides estimate be about 8,000 a year. That list does not include countries such as Iraq, Iran, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Somalia - the biggest sources of the 70,000 would-be refugees Britain receives every year. Widdecombe said that just by introducing the tough policy, many asylum-seekers would be deterred. (The Times (London), November 27, 2000)

The US government has issued new standards on the treatment of 20,000 people held daily in federal and local facilities while immigration decides their fate, including detainees will have access to attorneys, they won't face routine strip searches before and after visits from attorneys, detainee telephones will be maintained and access to them will be allowed. Legal calls are not to be monitored without a court order. Legal service providers may call to determine whether an individual is being held there. (The National Law Journal, Monday, November 27, 2000)

A woman central to the Woomera Detention Centre inquiry has revealed she reported more than one case of sexual abuse of children to centre management. As well as the alleged rape of a 12-year-old boy by his father in March, Barbara Rogalla reported the molestation of a 15-year-old boy by an adult detainee. Police were called but the boy had decided not to press charges and was sent back to the same area of the centre as his alleged molester. (The Australian, November 27, 2000)

The Immigration minister, Phillip Ruddock, has urged that allegations of a brothel operating inside the Woomera detention centre in South Australia should be referred to the police. A former nurse at the centre said she had been told by other staff that young teenage girls were involved, exchanging oral sex for cigarettes. The nurse, Maree Quinn, who worked at the centre until a month ago, said the brothel was run by three women detainees in a dormitory. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, November 25, 2000)

About 50 Middle Eastern asylum-seekers were under medical supervision on Friday after a weeklong hunger strike to protest against delays in hearing their applications to stay in Australia. "No demands have been made to our knowledge but they are believed to be protesting about delays in processing their applications (for refugee status)," an Immigration Department spokesman told Reuters. The department said about 35 detainees had not eaten for up to eight days and were being monitored closely by staff at the Woomera detention centre, 450 km (290 miles) north of Adelaide, which holds mostly people from Afghanistan and Iraq. But the spokesman said the protest would not sway the Australian government. (Reuters, November 24, 2000)

The Greek coastguard on Friday arrested 13 “illegal immigrants” and two Turkish nationals ferrying them across the Aegean. The ministry said the boat carrying the immigrants, all Iraqi Kurds, was intercepted by the coastguard off the Aegean island of Kos early on Friday. So far this year, the Greek coastguard has arrested 3,853 “illegal immigrants” and 149 people involved in ferrying them to Greece, the ministry said. Forty-six boats have been seized. (Reuters, November 24, 2000)

UNHCR is continuing to appeal to Pakistani authorities to reopen its borders to Afghan refugees fleeing fighting in northeastern Afghanistan. Its staff had not been allowed access for weeks to more than 18,000 new arrivals in desperate need of help. The new arrivals, mostly women and children, are in very poor nutritional and health condition. There have been reports of several deaths among them, mainly children. (UNHCR, November 24, 2000)

Turkish authorities have detained 63 “would-be immigrants” after the captain of the ship they were travelling on was injured. The Turkish coast guard stopped a Georgia-flagged ship carrying Bangladeshis, Afghans, Moroccans and one Turk on Wednesday near the Canakkale straits, which connect the Sea of Marmara with the Aegean Sea in northwestern Turkey. He said the captain had told authorities he had picked up the migrants near the Turkish resort of Kusadasi and intended to take them to Italy. After realising the ship was under surveillance, the captain told passengers he would not travel to Italy. One passenger shot him in the arm in an attempt to force him to continue the voyage. (Reuters, November 23, 2000)

The European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia registered an increase in xenophobia linked to EU enlargement plans. "The whole scene in Europe has become much more violent" said Winkler, the centre's director. Winkler said the number of people suffering from all forms of racial discrimination was "highly under-reported" because victims feared being excluded or being forced to leave their country of residence. (Reuters News Agency, November 23, 2000)

Bill Morris, leader of the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU), accused the Government of shelving its plans to reform the system of handing vouchers to asylum-seekers instead of cash. Morris is "utterly disillusioned" that Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, has not yet acted to change the voucher system despite pressure. (November 23, 2000, The Independent)

Groups working with refugees and asylum-seekers in Scotland said they were overwhelmed by the scale of the problem, and urged improvements in the system. One asylum-seeker told of the grim conditions and isolation of his new life in Glasgow. He said refugees faced attacks and harassment, and there was official indifference to many of their problems. (November 23 2000, The Times)

Under reporting of racial harassment is widespread despite the number of recorded incidents soaring since the inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence. The number of black and ethnic minority people reporting harassment had risen since the Lawrence case. However, most agencies considered under-reporting and under-recording of harassment still a big problem, with asylum seekers identified by several respondents as the group least likely to report harassment. (The Guardian, November 22, 2000)

The European Commission intends to ask member countries to forecast how many immigrants they wish to admit in future and what sort of skills they should have, as a first step towards setting a common European Union immigration policy. (The Financial Times, November 22, 2000)

A nurse at the Woomera Detention Centre was browbeaten by management into tearing up an initial report of a rape of a 12-year-old boy who had been admitted to the medical clinic by four guards concerned for his welfare. The woman also said that, as a registered nurse, she had a mandatory duty under South Australian law to report the allegations to police and to ensure that the child was seen by a doctor in hospital. However, the nurse claims she was persuaded by management not to do so. (The Australian, November 21, 2000)

Home Secretary Jack Straw has pledged to crackdown on the number of asylum seekers who "disappear" in the UK. He said improving and tightening border controls would prevent many people who are unlikely to be granted asylum from entering the country. The Home Office has set a target of removing 30,000 failed asylum seekers from the UK by 2002. (British Broadcasting Corporation, November 21, 2000)

A 29-year-old woman being deported to China jumped from a jet way at Los Angeles International Airport and was badly injured. The woman suffered head injuries and was in critical condition. (The Associated Press, November 21, 2000)

The Belgian government will finance a campaign to halt the inflow of Kazakhs after some 2,500 Kazakh citizens applied for refugee status there within a year. The Belgian government said it would pay the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) 50,000 dollars to launch an information campaign. (Agence France Presse, November 21, 2000)

The Refugee Council is calling on the Federal Government to make health care at immigration detention centres the responsibility of the health department. Private practitioners are currently arranged for detainees, by Australian Corrective Management, the company contracted to manage the centres. (Australian Associated Press, November 21, 2000)

Save the Children called on Prime Minister Tony Blair to ensure the UK Government's policy on children seeking asylum conforms to standards set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. When the UK signed up in 1991, it chose not to include children seeking sanctuary in its provisions under the convention. 36 children seeking asylum were locked up in detention centres between May and July of this year. Save the Children is calling on the Government to demonstrate that children seeking asylum are first children; they should get the same chance in life as all other children. (Press Association (UK), November 20, 2000)

Croatian and Slovene police agreed to boost cooperation in the fight against "illegal immigration" across their border, which doubled over the past three months in comparison with the same period last year. (Agence France Presse, November 20, 2000)

A series of fires at Port Hedland detention centre in Australia left seven people hospitalised, and was probably the work of detainees venting frustration. The detainees were probably fed up with conditions at the isolated detention centre. (The Australian, November 20, 2000)

Police detained 63 Iraqi Kurds on the Greek island of Mykonos, and arrested three men suspected of smuggling them into Greece. The "immigrants," who travelled from the Turkish coast, were arrested after landing on a remote beach. They were being held at an indoor stadium on the island. (The Associated Press, November 20, 2000)

About 100 Kurdish refugees from northern Iraq tried unsuccessfully to force their way past French police at Calais on Monday to board ferries bound for Britain. The Kurds were prevented from entering the embarkation area and later blocked a road near Sangatte, close to the entrance to the Channel Tunnel and to a Red Cross centre where they are sheltered. (Reuters, November 20, 2000)

Almost every refugee child who has come to Scotland has suffered some form of hostility and racist abuse, according to a study called I Didn't Come Here for Fun, which was compiled by Save the Children Scotland and the Scottish Refugee Council. (BBC, November 20, 2000)

The UK government is to allow asylum seekers to receive change in cash when they spend shopping vouchers. Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, has instructed a review team to draw up plans to allow change to be issued along with lower denomination vouchers. (The Daily Telegraph, November 18, 2000)

Australia's treatment of refugees was both insensitive and restrictive and it was time to review the mandatory detention of "illegal immigrants," West Australian Chief Justice David Malcolm said. He said Australia was "at risk" of breaching United Nations conventions by detaining all "illegal immigrants" on arrival. (Australian Associated Press, November 17, 2000)

Turkish security forces shot dead two of a seventeen-person group that tried to enter Turkey illegally from the Turkey-Iran border. Two Bangladeshi people were killed and three "illegal immigrants" were injured in the fire. The injured immigrants had been taken to the Agri State Hospital, and security forces had captured the other twelve. (Ankara Anatolia news agency, November 15, 2000)

The Irish authorities are to begin fingerprinting all asylum-seekers over the age of 14. The new Refugee Act provisions will apply to thousands of asylum-seekers who are already in the system seeking decisions on their applications. The new laws also gave police new powers to deal with traffickers smuggling in asylum-seekers, who have been arriving in Ireland, most from Britain and France, at a rate of more than 1,000 a month, the second highest per capita in the European Union. (Agence France Presse, November 15, 2000)

Residents of Tramore, Co Waterford, in Ireland have begun a campaign to stop the threatened deportation of a Nigerian woman, Ms Ebi Ojoh who has been living there with two of her children, a boy aged 15 and a girl aged 8, since June. Ms Ojoh says her application for asylum in Ireland was dealt with under the "fast track" procedure and rejected. Her appeal against the decision has also been turned down and now her only option is to apply to the Minister for Justice to be allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds. (The Irish Times, November 15, 2000)

A shutdown prison in Lanarkshire could become Scotland's first immigration centre for asylum seekers. Home Office immigration officials are considering Dun-gavel in a bid to meet the increasing demand on detention centres throughout Britain. (The Herald, Glasgow, November 15, 2000)

In the first nine months of the current year, 27,000 "illegal immigrants" entered Slovenia - mainly from Croatia and Hungary. The figure represents an increase of 70 per cent compared to the same period last year. Slovenia's Minister of Internal Affairs Peter Jambrek said that the surge in immigration had been the main reason why Croatia had been declared a safe third country. This means that immigrants detained in Slovenia will be returned to Croatia if that is from where they entered Slovenia and even if they ask for asylum in Slovenia. In addition, under an amendment to the asylum law, while their asylum requests are being considered, the asylum seekers will not be allowed to leave asylum centres. (HINA news agency, Zagreb (via BBC), November 15, 2000)

Airlines and ferry companies will have to pay fines of thousands of pounds if they allow people to arrive in Ireland without proper immigration documentation. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr O'Donoghue, said yesterday he had obtained Government approval for the drafting of new legislation, the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Bill. The Bill makes it an offence for a carrier to transport into the State passengers without the necessary papers. (The Irish Times, November 15, 2000)

Authorities in Cyprus have detained 38 Kurds, Syrians and Iraqis, including 6 women and 13 children aged between 2 and 15, who arrived in Cyprus on a fishing boat illegally overnight. The group were arrested in the south east of the island several hours after they landed on a rocky beach. The welfare department was looking after the children. (Reuters, November 15, 2000)

The Federal Opposition wants a review of contractual arrangements between an overseas company that runs the Woomera Detention Centre, in South Australia's north, and the Immigration Department. This follows allegations of child abuse at the centre. (The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, November 15, 2000)

A Father in the Woomera detention centre "farmed" his son out to other detainees for sex in return for cigarettes. In a sworn affidavit, a Woomera medical officer alleged the sexual abuse was not reported to outside agencies because centre management refused to call police without permission from the boy's parents. "There was a widely held opinion among nursing staff that sexual assault on minors was a regular occurrence among the detainee community and hence socially acceptable." The statement alleged Australasian Correctional Management operations manager Allan Clifton admitted company staff would have a different attitude to sexual abuse if their own children were involved. ACM is a private US company contracted to the Department of Immigration to run the detention centre. "It was common knowledge in the clinic that medical files of detainees who were implicated in child abuse had disappeared." An alleged victim of sexual assault told medical staff she had not pressed charges because she feared for her safety if other detainees found out, the statement said. Several allegations of child abuse in the detention centre had been investigated by South Australian Family and Youth Services this year, but no criminal charges have been laid. The agency was called to investigate other, less serious, allegations but staff arrived at Woomera 12 weeks after the allegations were made, the spokesman said, because discussions with the commonwealth over "tricky protocol and legal issues" delayed the agency's investigations. (The Australian, November 15, 2000)

The fight against “illegal immigrants” will be a top priority in the defence white paper to be unveiled on December 6 after federal cabinet this week decided to substantially upgrade coast watch activities. This will include putting more navy patrol boats and RAAF planes on to coastwatch surveillance. The government has also decided to dramatically increase security at detention centres for “illegal immigrants,” turning the centres into top-security prisons with 12-metre-high reinforced solid metal fencing. This replaces the mesh fencing that was pushed down and breached during the breakout from the Woomera detention centre in June. The plan to increase the effectiveness of coastwatch operations includes better coordination between the police and defence forces; increasing the hours of coastal surveillance performed by the navy and airforce; and increased public information. It will allow the purchase of early warning aircraft, upgrades to the Collins class submarines, and transport, training and equipment support for the armed forces in East Timor. (The Age (Australia), November 15, 2000)

A German court convicted four teen-age skinheads of attempted murder and arson for injuring a family of asylum-seekers from Kosovo in a firebomb attack on their refugee hostel. The defendants, aged between 15 and 18 and linked to the far-right scene in the western town of Ludwigshafen where the attack took place in July, were sentenced to terms of between 2-1/2 and five years in a juvenile prison. Eight East German youths were found guilty of manslaughter for an attack on an Algerian asylum-seeker who bled to death after trying to escape a racist mob chasing him through the town of Guben, near the Polish border, in February 1999. Three of them received sentences of two to three years, while the others were handed suspended terms or warnings. The court found that they had not deliberately caused the Algerian's death. (Reuters, November 14, 2000)

Three children who are due to be deported by the Home Office have been told by their head teachers to turn up for school as normal. The failure of legal efforts to stop the deportation of Miao Hong Su, 16, and her brothers Jing, 14 and Zhao, 11, has left teachers clinging to the hope that by keeping them in school, they will be able protect the children from seizure. The schools hope that the authorities will realise that it would be too traumatic to remove the children in front of fellow pupils. (The Guardian (UK), November 14, 2000)

The Government is seeking tenders for the construction of a multi-million-pound centre for asylum-seekers within 10 miles of Dublin Airport. The centre will be used for asylum-seekers arriving in Ireland and may be used to detain those awaiting deportation. At present, asylum-seekers awaiting deportation are detained in Garda stations. The centre will consist of prefabricated buildings and will accommodate up to 400 people. (The Irish Times, November 14, 2000)

Italy and Albania cited progress in joint efforts to halt illegal trafficking of migrants and goods between the two countries, separated by only a thin stretch of sea. "The flow of illegal immigrants from Albania has significantly diminished while a large number of small speedboats have been confiscated by the Albanian authorities." (Agence France Presse, November 14, 2000)

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees report said entry restrictions imposed by European and North American governments would not be the answer, as they merely drove immigrants and refugees into the hands of unscrupulous traffickers and smugglers. The report also has a strong political message: that existing international refugee policy is inadequate and unfair. It criticized western European policies to combat illegal immigration and abuse of asylum systems, which it said led to a ``Fortress Europe'' against genuine refugees. The report also criticized 1996 U.S. legislation, which imposed drastic restrictions on asylum seekers trying to enter the United States. (The Associated Press, November 13, 2000)

The Department of Justice has agreed not to use as an accommodation centre for asylum-seekers a hotel in Rosslare Harbour being picketed by locals. The Devereux Hotel is to be used as an assessment centre only, with no overnight stays by asylum-seekers, and is to be put back on the market within 18 months. (The Irish Times, November 13, 2000)

Many of the 48,000 immigrants into Ireland in 1999 were black and here to study and take up important positions. Less than one fifth of the total were asylum-seekers. Yet, the public's perception of almost all black and coloured people now is that they are asylum-seekers. The small group of asylum-seekers, only 16.26 per cent of total immigrants, is getting "disproportionate negative attention." (The Irish Times, November 13, 2000)

Hong Kong security secretary called for concerted international co-operation to tackle the growing problem of human trafficking. Six of the 11 cases of “illegal immigrants” intercepted by the US and Canadian governments between December 1999 and September directly resulted from tip-offs from Hong Kong. (Agence France Presse, November 13, 2000)

British immigration officers are to be stationed in the Czech Republic's main airport in a bid to clamp down on “illegal” asylum seekers. The presence, agreed by the two governments, will be in place despite the Czech bid to become a member of the European Union in the first wave of expansion. Free movement of people and goods is one of the principal benefits of EU membership. But it is understood that the British team will be there to prevent an influx of eastern Europeans from outside the EU from using the

Czech Republic as a route to the west. (The Independent (UK), November 12, 2000)

Tasmania's Anti-Discrimination Commissioner has taken court action against the Federal Immigration Minister, Philip Ruddock. Jocelynne Scutt has issued an application in the Federal Court in relation to the deportation of Kosovo Albanian refugee Akif Lutfiu. Mr Lutfiu went into hiding in Hobart after overstaying his visa last April. He was taken into custody after being found in a nightclub three months later and sent back to the Balkans. Dr Scutt claims that Mr Ruddock impeded an Anti-Discrimination investigation by deporting Mr Lutfiu while it was being conducted. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, November 11, 2000)

The sexual abuse of children at Woomera Detention Centre had been investigated but no criminal charges were laid. It was claimed yesterday that investigators failed to interview victims or medical staff at the centre. The investigation was organised by the Department of Immigration after concerns about child abuse were raised by the South Australian Government in June. A state CPA team did not arrive in Woomera until September, because of a dispute over jurisdiction. Medical officials at Woomera claimed documents substantiating physical abuse and allegations of sexual abuse had been removed from the centre by management. The claim followed allegations by medical officials that sexual abuse was not reported due to management intimidation of staff. Woomera is run by Australasian Correctional Management, a private company contracted to the Department of Immigration. The department would not reveal the value of the 13-month contract with ACM, but a spokesperson for Mr Ruddock said it was worth "tens of millions of dollars". (The Australian, November 14, 2000)

A new NATO commander said the alliance was making major changes in preparation for new missions it would face in coming years including fighting crime and "illegal immigration." "In the last 10 years, NATO had to adapt itself to the new security situation" in the world, US Army General William Kernan, the alliance's new supreme allied commander-Atlantic, or SACLANT, said at a defence symposium. "In the future, the task will not only be to defend the borders (of its member states) but to fight against ethnic violence, international crime and "illegal immigration." NATO formally adopted a new doctrine expanding the alliance's mission in light of the collapse of the Soviet Union, which it was set up to counter. Kernan said NATO had succeeded in its original mission and now needed to adapt to confront new security realities in the world. (Agence France Presse, 6 September 2000)