Asylum (Designated States) Order 2007

The appeal system is designed to be a safeguard against poor initial decision-making which the Government recognise exists in the immigration field. This order adds to the ““white list”” a host of new countries where individuals with clearly unfounded asylum claims can be returned to their native countries before they are entitled to appeal their asylum decision. They can of course appeal from their own countries, but at least some of those to be added to the list are still regarded by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and the Refugee Council as countries in which human rights breaches are suspected to be occurring. I propose to outline some of those concerns. Of Liberia, Human Rights Watch said: "““Despite the deployment of UN peacekeepers and some 1,000 civilian police, violent crime””—" continues to rise— "““including hijacking, armed robbery, and murder””." The report states that the newly trained Liberian police engage in criminal behaviour by using excessive force and even sexual harassment. The performance of the judiciary remains dysfunctional, with corrupt practices being carried out. Prison centres operate far below international standards, with overcrowded cells and a lack of food and water for detainees; and harmful traditional practices continue to be carried out, which include the killing of alleged witches and the killing of people who refuse to be induced into an alleged secret society. Liberia is not a safe place to which to return people, as the order proposes. Of Sierra Leone, in respect of men, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Oxfam say that since the end of Sierra Leone’s brutal armed conflict in 2002, few improvements have been made to address the crushing poverty and human rights violations that are occurring. Sierra Leone has been placed on the white list in respect of men only—the problems regarding women and children need to be addressed—but men are still suffering human rights violations with regard to corruption, where they are being arrested, beaten and forced into societies in which they are forced to perform female genital mutilation. There is no record of their arrests. Sierra Leone has been a matter of concern for this country for some time. It has not yet qualified as a safe place in the submission of those organisations, which are in the front line. As for Peru, armed conflict ended in 2000, but Peru has yet to establish a stable democracy. Cases of torture and police brutality continue to occur and victims and witnesses in torture cases are vulnerable to intimidation and reprisals. Journalists who report on corruption in Peru face harassment and physical attack. In Serbia, according to Human Rights Watch there is still an unsatisfactory human rights situation in 2007. The Roma continue to face substandard economic and social conditions, as well as frequent verbal and physical abuse. In Kosovo, minorities remain at risk from persecution and attack. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported in 2006 that Serbs, Roma and Albanians from a minority area are still at a high risk of being persecuted. Then there is Bosnia-Herzegovina. Despite the war ending in 1993, 14 years ago, the main human rights threat that remains is the return of refugees and displaced people. Those who return to areas in which they are the minority remain under threat of physical attack and harassment; and human rights groups in Bosnia fear that, if all the refugees return, they may be persecuted and face torture. Amnesty International also comments on other countries in the list. In the Gambia, 70 civilians and members of the military, including prisoners of conscience were unlawfully detained after an alleged coup attempt in late March 2006. Several journalists and editors were also unlawfully detained for many weeks. At least 12 detainees were reportedly tortured. Trials of suspected coup plotters were continuing in military and civilian courts at the end of the year. Five people who allegedly escaped may have been extra-judicially executed. Even in 2007, there is repression of the right to freedom of expression. Amnesty also says that the Government of Kenya have intensified their intimidation and harassment of journalists and human rights defenders. Impunity for abuses by the police was reinforced, as the authorities failed to investigate allegations of police brutality. Violence against women and girls, including rape and domestic violence, remains a serious concern. All the conditions of an absolutely unacceptable regime are present where the police do not do their job, do not arrest people and are guilty of brutality that is never investigated. Amnesty says that almost 1 million people in Malawi needed food aid in 2006. Freedom of expression continues to be threatened, with a number of media workers charged with criminal libel. Torture and ill treatment by police and life-threatening prison conditions were reported. In June 2006, the Malawi Human Rights Commission expressed concern about abuse and torture at Lilongwe, Kawale, Lingadzi and Kanengo police stations. Montenegro, which declared independence from Serbia, was recognised as a United Nations member state in June 2006. Some progress has been made, but it still has impunity for some war crimes and political killings. Torture and ill treatment by law enforcement officers were widespread throughout 2006. Only Mali and Mauritius, which appear on the list, have not elicited the concern of Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International. It remains the case that we should have a proper appeals system that works as a safeguard for people from these countries. The decisions that are taken to turn them back are very often successfully appealed. Accordingly, we must express our deep concern about the extension that the order initiates.