At Chatham Chambers Solicitors, we specialise in all aspects of asylum and detention issues. We have extensive experience at all levels, represent clients from around the world and have access to professional interpreters in any language.
If you would like to speak to one of our Reading asylum solicitors then please telephone us on 0118 958 5855 or contact us online.
Asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient judicial notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country or church sanctuaries (as in medieval times). This right has its roots in a longstanding Western tradition — although it was already recognised by the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Hebrews. Descartes went to the Netherlands, Voltaire to England, Hobbes to France (followed by many English nobles during the English Civil War), etc.
Each state offered protection to foreign persecuted persons. However, the development in the 20th century of bilateral extradition treaties has endangered the right of asylum, although international law considers that a state has no obligation to surrender an alleged criminal to a foreign state, as one principle of sovereignty is that every state has legal authority over the people within its borders.
The UK is a signatory to the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which means that it has a responsibility under international law not to return (or refoule) refugees to the place where they would face persecution.
The 'Immigration Crisis' and Its Effect on Asylum
The issue of immigration has been a controversial political issue since the late 1990s. Both the ruling and opposition parties have suggested policies perceived as being "tough on asylum" and the tabloid media frequently print headlines about an "immigration crisis."
This is denounced by those seeking to ensure that the UK upholds its international obligations as disproportionate. Critics suggest that much of the opposition to high levels of immigration by refugees is based on racism. Concern is also raised about the treatment of those held in detention and the practice of dawn raiding families, and holding young children in immigration detention centres for long periods of time.
However, critics of the UK's asylum policy often point out the "safe third country rule" — the international agreement that asylum seekers must apply in the first free nation they reach, not go "asylum shopping" for the nation they prefer. EU courts have upheld this policy. Since the UK is geographically much further removed from any third world nation than most other European countries, many assume that asylum seekers in the UK choose it out of preference rather than absolute necessity.
Recent Asylum and Detention Trends
Official figures for numbers of people claiming asylum in the UK were at a 13-year low by March 2006. Opponents of the government's policies on asylum seekers and refugees, such as Migration Watch UK and some newspapers are critical of the way official figures are calculated.
Human rights organisations such as Amnesty International have argued that the government's new policies, particularly those concerning detention centres, have detrimental effects on asylum applicants and those facilities have seen a number of hunger strikes and suicides. Others have argued that recent government policies aimed at reducing 'bogus' asylum claims have had detrimental impacts on those genuinely in need of protection.
Virtually every country is affected by the large number of and different types of conflicts taking place in the world, either as a producer of refugees, as a receiver or as a transitory destination. An estimated 21 million people are currently displaced. Next to Germany, the United Kingdom is a favourite destination in Europe for the asylum seekers. The total number of refugees in the United Kingdom is below 200,000. According to the figures of the United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), this number represents three percent of the total number of asylum seekers in Europe and less than one percent of refugee worldwide.
Berkshire Detention and Asylum Solicitors
For more information, or to speak to one of our solicitors about your asylum or detention issue, contact our firm.
