Become a member

Category: Refugees and Migrants

Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner and Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham report: Modern Slavery – The UK picture

26 April 2018

As one of the major challenges facing us today…we need to know everything we can about the scale, causes, and consequences of modern slavery, and strategies to combat it.

This is from the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Kevin Hyland OBE.

In partnership with the University of Nottingham Rights Lab, Kevin Hyland has released an April 2018 report (pdf) on modern slavery.

Read More »
European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless logo

European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless report: Third Overview of Housing Exclusion in Europe 2018

21 March 2018

The profiles of homeless people are changing, with children becoming the largest group of people in emergency shelters as a result of a deterioration in the living conditions of extremely vulnerable families.

This from the March 2018 annual report (PDF) from the European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA)

This report reveals how millions of Europeans face housing exclusion on a daily basis as well as a dramatic picture of increasing homelessness across most of the EU – in particular amongst children, women and migrants.

The report finds:

In France, 20,845 people called the 115 homeless helpline requesting accommodation (in June 2017)
Dublin City Council spent € 39 million on hotel nights for homeless people in 2016, while € 10.7 million was spent on prevention and supported housing
In Britain, 29% of spending was on temporary accommodation and (44% of which was spent on hotels/Bed and Breakfast) and 61% on housing services (between 2015-2016)
Over the last number of years, only two European countries (Finland and Norway) have seen a reduction in the number of homeless people
Read the full report (PDF).

Read More »
Migrants Rights Network

Migrant Rights Network guidance: Know Your Rights

21 March 2018

As part of the School Census, schools are now required by the Department for Education to collect the nationality and country of birth of children aged 5 – 19.

This is from the March 2018 guidance from the Migrant Rights Network which aims to help migrants understand their rights and how to assert them in 8 key areas of everyday life.

This guide is to help all migrants living in the UK understand their rights in a situation where immigration rules are changing regularly.

The guidance finds:

Since 30 October 2017, banks and building societies have had to do immigration checks on all customers every 3 months. If they discover that you might be in the UK without permission they must tell the Home Office
Since 2014, the Driving and Vehicle Licence Agency (DVLA) is not allowed to give you a driving licence if you are not ‘lawfully resident’ in the UK. The DVLA does not have to let you know if they cancel your licence. This means you may not find out you are driving illegally until you are stopped by the police
Some schools have been asking to see children’s passports. This is against government guidance. Other schools have only asked for the nationality and country of birth of non-white children. This is discriminatory and therefore illegal.
Read the full guidance (pdf).

Read More »
Global Justice Now

Global Justice Now briefing: The Hostile Environment for Immigrants

15 March 2018

‘Banks have to check applicants’ immigration status before allowing them to open a bank account’.

This is according to the February 2018 briefing (pdf) from Global Justice Now on the hostile environment for immigrants. 

The briefing finds: 

The government is preventing people from accessing safe and secure housing by forcing landlords to carry out the work of immigration officers.
NHS staff are also being forced to demand upfront payment for treatment from people who cannot prove their immigration status
People in the UK without at least six months leave to remain cannot apply for a driving licence
Read the full report (pdf). 

Read More »
The Scottish Human Rights Commission logo.

Scottish Human Rights Commission report: Building a Human Rights Culture in Scotland

21 February 2018

Human rights belong to everyone. We all have rights regardless of sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age, income, gender, country of birth or belief.

This is from the February 2018 report from the Scottish Human Rights Commission on building a human rights culture in Scotland.

The research tested and identified the impact of different types of messages on people’s attitudes towards human rights

The report finds:

Demographic groups of women and 16-24 year olds were most likely to become more supportive and engaged with human rights when exposed to key human rights messages
When talking about human rights, organisations involved in human rights secured the greatest levels of trust amongst all those surveyed, with 58% of participants saying they would trust them a great deal or fair amount.
This compares to 17% for a famous singer, actor, sportsperson or musician who is well known for caring about human rights
Different spokespeople affected the impact of messages. For example across all those surveyed, a disability rights campaigner has more impact than the Chair of the National Human Rights Institution when discussing disability rights.
Read the full report (pdf).

Read More »
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights report: Migration to the European Union – Five Persistent Challenges

21 February 2018

‘Asylum-seeking children in several EU Member States had no or limited access to education’, says a February 2019 report (pdf) from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).

Building on the findings of their October 2016 report (pdf), this report presents the most pressing fundamental rights concerns between October 2016 and December 2017.

The report finds:

Legal and practical obstacles to accessing legal aid, information and interpretation existed in all EU Member States covered
Sexual and gender-based violence in reception centres remains an issue in some EU Member States
Police and border guards reportedly ill-treated migrants, particularly on the Western Balkan route, and in Spain in certain locations.
Read the full report (pdf).

Read More »
Human Rights logo

Human Rights Watch report: World Report 2018

13 February 2018

Despite allegations of serious abuse in immigration detention centers, the UK
persisted in not imposing a maximum time limit for immigration detention, and
continued to detain asylum-seeking and migrant children.

This is from the January 2018 report (pdf) from the Human Rights Watch (HRW). World Report 2018 is their 28th annual review of human rights
practices around the globe.

The report summarises key human rights issues in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide, drawing on events from late 2016 through November 2017. 

The report finds: 

Germany over the past year made headlines when the Alternative for Germany (AfD) became the first far-right party to enter its parliament in decades
Despite a strong tradition of protecting civil and political rights, Australia has serious unresolved human rights problems. Australia continued in 2017 to hold asylum seekers who arrived by boat on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and on the island nation of Nauru, where conditions are abysmal
Bahrain’s human rights situation continued to worsen in 2017. Authorities shut down the country’s only independent newspaper and the leading secular-left opposition political society. 
In Bangladesh, civil society groups faced pressure from both state and non-state actors, including death threats and attacks from extremist groups.

Read the full report (pdf).

Read More »
Meta

Links

Links

Facebook Twitter Linkedin

Get involved

© Equally Ours 2022. We're a registered charity (no. 1135357)