High Court of Justice (UK) orders review/reformulate of work ban on failed asylum seekers

High Court of Justice (UK) orders review/reformulate of work ban on failed asylum seekers - Centre for Social Justice's 'Asylum Matters' report.
Case in European Court of Human Rights , Strasbourg , France -

I am writing as someone in your constituency who shares many of the concerns of the Centre for Social Justice's 'Asylum Matters' report. The report shows clearly that the asylum system has lost the respect of people seeking asylum and the British public. As a nation we are rightly proud of the fair and full legal processes of this country. Unfortunately this is not the case when it comes to the way asylum claims are dealt with. 'Asylum Matters' makes some very sensible recommendations for improving the quality of initial decisions, to get it right in the first place. Britain has a history of giving protection and refuge to people fleeing persecution. I want an asylum system to be proud of, and one that people seeking asylum will respect the outcome of.
'Asylum Matters' clearly shows how inhumane and counter-productive it is to give limited or no support to people refused asylum - usually they end up destitute. Pushing people towards the underground economy is in no one's interest. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) proposes a temporary license to work for those people who are here for more than six months. I hope you agree that this embodies the British principle of work for those who can, and support for those who can't. People seeking and refused asylum should and can be seen as assets and opportunities rather than spongers and criminals. The CSJ also suggest that 'for those asylum seekers whose claim has been refused but who cannot be returned home, a temporary license for paid employment and the opportunity to contribute to their own support is recommended.' This is something I know many agencies working with asylum-seekers, such as Refugee Action and Church Action on Poverty, agree with.
As in United Kingdom the High Court of Justice has said that the current Home Office ban on failed asylum seekers working should be reviewed. The Judge, in the case of Mr. Tekle, an Eritrean national, held that the ban was far too broad and could be against the rights to private life under article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
The judge in this case - Tekle v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2008] EWHC 3064 (Admin) -ordered the Home Office to review and reformulate the policy within 3 months.
This decision of British court based on European convention of human rights and legal cases in European Court of Human Rights.
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2008/3064.html -
It also highlights the pressing and desperate need for asylum-seekers to be supported after refusal so that they have time to come to terms with their asylum decision and decide what to do next. The CSJ have exposed that government is wrong to suggest that treating asylum seekers with dignity somehow acts as a 'pull factor'. There are many reasons why refugees end up in Britain but being a 'soft touch' isn't one of them. These are just a few of the points from this report that I know Refugee Action - http://www.refugee-action.org.uk/ : and Church Action on Poverty - http://www.stillhuman.org.uk/ - is in agreement with. I am writing to you to ask you to read the CSJ's report, and to do what you can to influence the Immigration & Citizenship Bill that is going through Parliament in early 2009, in order to help end destitution among refused asylum-seekers.Yours sincerelyMr. Igor Bit,

http://www.echr.coe.int/.

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High Court orders review of work ban on failed asylum seekers - links

http://nrcentre.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=205:high-court-orders-review-of-work-ban-on-failed-asylum-seekers&catid=13:Policies%20&%20Rulings&Itemid=9 -

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2008/3064.html - link to this decision.

The judge in this case - Tekle v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2008] EWHC 3064 (Admin) -ordered the Home Office to review and reformulate the policy within 3 months.

This decision of British court based on European convention of human rights and cases in European Court of Human Rights.

A landmark legal ruling has paved the way for thousands of asylum seekers in the UK to be allowed to work. The High Court has ruled that current laws preventing an Eritrean asylum seeker from taking a job are incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Eritrean man, called Tekle, who allegedly cannot be returned to his home country “because it is considered too dangerous,” has been in the UK for seven years while his case is considered. Thousands of asylum seekers from other countries also considered too dangerous to return to — including Iran , Iraq , Somalia and Zimbabwe — are in a similar position.
The ruling has no bearing on the 300,000-plus asylum seekers whose applications are being fast-tracked because they do not come from countries considered no-go areas.
Caroline Slocock, chief executive of the Refugee Legal Centre - http://www.refugee-legal-centre.org.uk/, said the ruling would affect a significant category who found themselves destitute and in limbo. “We expect it to be in the thousands,” she said.
The Hon. Mr. Justice Blake ruled that a blanket ban was “unlawfully over-broad and unjustifiably detrimental to claimants who have had to wait as long as this claimant has.” He said the Home Office’s policy breached article 8 of the convention, which guarantees the ‘right to respect for private and family life’.
The ruling comes as the former Tory leader, Iain Duncan Smith (http://www.iainduncansmith.org/text.aspx?id=1), published a report suggesting that failed asylum seekers should be given the right to work here if they cannot return home.
http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/default.asp?pageRef=37 - link

http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/client/images/Asylum%20release%20press%20final.doc

http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/client/downloads/188255%20Final%20Asylum%20Matters%20(pg%201-112)-V2_email.pdf -

High court decision ---
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Neutral Citation Number: [2008] EWHC 3064 (Admin)


Case No: CO/10249/06
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICEQUEEN'S BENCH DIVISIONADMINISTRATIVE COURT


Royal Courts of JusticeStrand, London , WC2A 2LL


11/12/2008
B e f o r e :
THE HON. MR JUSTICE BLAKE____________________
Between:

Dawit Tekle
Claimant

- and -


Secretary of State for the Home Department
Defendant

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http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2008/3064.html - link to this decision.



Sincerely yours, Igor Bit