Public meeting held in the Secular Hall, Leicester on Friday 17 October 2008
The Rev. Dr Nick Sagovsky, Canon Theologian at Westminster Abbey was an inspiring keynote speaker at last month's open public meeting attended by over 50 people.
Nick Sagovsky spoke about the three reports of the Independent Asylum Commission, their conclusions and recommendations.
Copies of the reports were available for the audience. The first, entitled Saving Sanctuary, is already a rare item, all 1,000 copies printed have been distributed. For those who have not been able to get a hard copy, it is available online, along with Safe Return and Deserving Dignity, from the IAC website at www.independentasylumcommission.org.uk
We heard an account of the 7 public hearings held around Britain, of the overview document Fit for Purpose Yet? followed by a dialogue with the UK Border Agency whose officials provided full and considered responses to concerns and criticisms.
Key points from the 3 reports:
Saving Sanctuary - How we restore public support for sanctuary and improve the way we decide who needs sanctuary.
The system depends on good decision-making, well-argued and well-resourced decisions which stand up to scrutiny; good interpreters; a process which is not too fast: fast-track may be in many cases too fast; and not too slow: individual case-owners now aim to complete a case within 6 months.
Safe Return - How to improve what happens when we refuse people sanctuary.
The detention centres: UKBA works hard to keep them full; Campsfield near Oxford is a volatile prison/removal centre, the Commissioners saw very worrying conditions for vulnerable people. Six months is a reasonable time to wait for a decision on an asylum claim: six years is inhumane, and to deport families with roots in local communities like Glasgow is inhumane.
Deserving Dignity - How to improve the way we treat people seeking sanctuary.
"People seeking sanctuary should be treated fairly and humanely, have access to essential support and public services, and should make a contribution to the UK if they are able."
Living long-term on Section 4 hard case support is corrosive of human dignity.
Recommendations include:
• Review the use of detention, find alternatives, and improve safeguards
• Allow asylum seekers to support themselves, if case not resolved within six months
• Treat children as children
• Ensure the dignity of women, torture survivors, those with health needs and LGBT asylum seekers
Sir Peter Soulsby MP for Leicester South added his comments. He found the reports balanced, common sense and felt they represent the way forward.
He encouraged everyone to read and study them in detail, to seek to talk to their own MP face to face about the recommendations, and to use them with other opinion-formers and decision-makers.
We are fortunate in the UK to have an open democratic process - we must use it
