Sped Up Deportation Also a Moral Outrage

There are two types of foreigners in the UK system economic migrants and asylum seekers. Let's make that clear. The latter of those types are the most vulnerable.

Therefore it is with outrage that I see that there is a leaked document that is looking at the voluntary right to leave or deportation at some point in the following 2 months of families seeking asylum. The no time being given element brings to mind the harrowing images from France earlier this week.

When I was campaigning in the general election I was campaigning for treating asylum seekers as human beings. Not looking up their children behind bars, allowing them to seek employment while their cases were heard. These are people that for whatever reason have fled their country to seek refuge. Yes, our immigration services then have to vet them to ensure that their is a genuine need and a right to stay. Although under Labour many of the most needy cases were not treated with egality.

I'd like to think we live in a liberal state that looks out for the most needy. Treating asylum seekers and their families as little more than unwanted cargo is not the way to go about thinks.

The Liberal Democrats campaigned to end child detention, not by being Iranian about it* and simply getting rid of anyone in that category. There have to be better alternatives that allow the process to run its full and fair course, which also does away with the need to detain children.

I think the UK Border Agency better think it out again.

* The Iranian way to ensure there are no gays in the country is the kill any they find.

Pride in Our Supreme Court

Yesterday I posted abouthow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had condemned Britain's return with discretion policy to sexuality refugees which were followed under Labour. Today the UK Supreme Court has stood up for sexuality refugees as well. They ruled in favour of two men one from Iran and the other from Cameroon.

They had been asked to consider if a gay applicant could be refused asylum on the grounds that he could avoid ill treatment if he concealed his sexuality. (I could use a gender neutral term here but the applicants were both male on this occasion and the Supreme Court was considering that specific case to set precedent). The Court of appeal had previously thrown out the cases as they stated that by concealing their identity their situation could be regarded as "reasonably tolerable".

The applicants had gone to the Supreme Court to challenge the tolerability test, saying it was contrary to the Refugee Convention Act of which the UK is a signatory.The Supreme Court Agreed Lord Hope read out their findings saying:

"To compel a homosexual person to pretend that his sexuality does not exist or suppress the behaviour by which to manifest itself is to deny his fundamental right to be who he is.

"Homosexuals are as much entitled to freedom of association with others who are of the same sexual orientation as people who are straight."

Now don't forget that Labour were saying that they were the champions of LGBT rights, yet under them the 'tolerability test' and 'discretion precedent' where the preferred way of dealing with people fleeing persecution because of their sexuality. Both could easily have been overturned by legislation or guidance from the Minister.

I suppose we should thank Labour for setting up the independent Supreme Court who have now ruled that their guidance was actually incorrect. Good to see the independent judicial body standing up for human rights in our country.

In the case of Iran and other countries the people who come to our country seeking asylum because of their sexuality are facing a death penalty if they return. It is a subject I have blogged about too often in the past and expect to sadly have to return to again in the future.

Discretion Test Condemned

The Home Office's guidance to gay asylum seekers who seek refuge in the UK because of their sexuality has been condemned by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The discretion test where they are sent back to their homeland with the advice to keep their sexuality secret was according to UNHCR turning international convention "on its head".

The UK Supreme Court is to give a ruling on the issue this Wednesday. Many of those seeking asylum in this country on the grounds of their sexuality. Alexandra McDowall, the UNHCR's legal officer in London, says the discretion test "introduces an element that shouldn't be there". However, people facing persecution for their sexuality are a protected group just like those facing religious or political persecution.

The current Home Office is seeking to overturn the previous advise, however there are no official records for how many were turned away under the 'discretion-rule'. Stonewall however estimate that as many as 98% are turned away on their first application.

PS Yes I did choose the picture because one of my friends is in it. Amazing what you find when you search goggle images (Courtesy of Amnesty International Northern Ireland)

Nick Clegg Sets Out the Real Gay Rights' Agenda

Earlier this week David Cameron made what looked like an ad hoc adjustment to his income tax marriage person's allowance announcement when he added in civil partnerships. After the slap dash 50 minutes in which he took to clarify his position when he first announced those plans, this addendum looked like an add on from policy wonks to answer some, though not all of the inequality questions his proposal raised.

Nick Clegg this morning talking in The Independent goes further than any other leader ever has to knock out the last few areas of inequality for the gay community. He's basically saying enough of 'equal but different' why can't we just be equal.


Education

First up Nick calls for all schools to adopt anti-homophobia bullying policies and to teach that homosexuality exists and is normal. This he wants to apply even to faith schools. Many people grow up in a faith community feeling they are isolated, the feelings that they are going through are not something they can share with teachers, fellow pupils or whatever because of the way that homosexuality is treated. It can, and does, lead to depression in a number of people. Of course such feeling are not exclusive to such an school environment, but they do accentuate it in a faith school environment. At least having access to information and feeling more able to talk about it is something that people who actually are of that faith and find themselves to be gay need as much as every other teenager in our country.

As for protection from homophobic bullying, not every child has the opportunity long after the bullying ceases to go up to the bully and say, "You know you were right". To looks of confusion from the bully like I did a few years back.

Equal Marriage

Nick is calling for the same marital rights for gay men and women as straight couples. The Tories appear to be wanting to tinker around the edges of this, acknowledge it in the tax code but not much else. David Cameron talked earlier this week about extending the 'marriage' allowance to include 'civil partnerships' Nick wants to make those unions marriage. By full marital rights Nick is also saying that those that want a same sex marriage to be solemnised within a faith may do so if they find a clergyman or woman willing to do so. He's not forcing the churches, mosques, synagogues or whatever to all carry out such ceremonies merely allowing those who are inclined the option of being involved in such a ceremony where currently they are banned.

On this issue Nick has said:

"If we don’t want to discriminate, why do we make differences in language? Language is a hugely important signifier of how we segment society and how you seek to create differences between people. Since we don’t want to make differences on this and the law has moved a great deal to do that, we should be linguistically the same too."

Blood ban

As I said at Scottish Spring Conference last year, there is fallacy in the Blood Transfusion Services definition of "risky" sexual behaviour of those who donate. It isn't actually based on behaviour it is based on a categorisation of an entire section of the population, ignoring more risky sexual practitioners in the straight community over the safer members of the gay one. Recently I read another article about the shortage of O negative blood as a result of the recent cold weather, crying out for donors to come forward. My O neg of course could have helped if they'd only let me.

Asylum seekers

Currently there is no recognition that someone fleeing their country for sexual persecution can seek asylum in this country. We have sent back young men to some countries where they face certain death for admitting they are gay. We offer such protection for those who are politically or religiously persecuted. These people if they are faced with eminent danger should they be returned home will often face a favourable hearing for their case for asylum.

This of course is not about immigration but offering help to those who face persecution. Even the Christians would have to own up that Jesus told them to help those who face persecution, he didn't put any provisos unto that appeal.

On the issue of asylum seekers Nick added:

"It's a moral stain on our collective consciousnesses. The public debate has transformed asylum seekers into threats rather than human beings."

He said Lib Dem policy would be that Britain should provide sanctuary to those fleeing persecution because of their sexual orientation:

"It’s not just me that says this, it’s international law that says it."

Uganda

For those that do not know Uganda are currently debating a new policy that will lock up anyone involved in homosexual practices for live. Any who are HIV positive or who have AIDS face summary execution. Considering the rate of HIV infection on the African continent this could well turn into a cull. After all the use of HIV may well turn into the only 'evidence' that homosexual activity took place.

As with the asylum regulations above this is something we could not condone. While most of those asylum seekers come from countries where we may well have little sway with sanctions, Uganda is part of the Commonwealth and we have in the past excluded such members for taking actions against the spirit of the Commonwealth.


Finally

Speaking of the Conservative positioning on gay issues Nick said:

"He [David Cameron] is a confection. I don’t really know what he believes in. I don’t know what his convictions are and the reason is because they keep changing – and they seem to change for convenience. So when it mattered, when people went through the lobby to vote on Section 28, his convictions were on the wrong side. Suddenly they’ve changed and we get an apology!"

Mr Clegg questioned the Tory leader’s record of supporting gay equality, highlighting how Mr Cameron voted against the repeal of Section 28 (he last year apologised for the Tories’ introduction of Section 28) and how he has allied his party with right-wing anti-gay groups in Europe.

"The surveys of a lot of the next generation of Conservative MPs show massive residue of indifference at best, prejudice at worst [to the subject of gay rights]."

Nick is also being interviewed in the February edition of Attitude magazine which is out this week. But as I haven't seen that article a separate blog entry will probably follow.

Just How is He Meant to be Discreet?

Mehdi Kazemi the gay Iranian nineteen year has lost his asylum bid to remain in the Netherlands and will shortly been returned possibly breifly to the UK.

Sadly our Home Office fails to accept that the Iranian regime routinely execute homosexuals. Indeed they take the attitude that that gay people can return to Iran safely providing they are 'discreet'. How they expect Mehdi to remain discreet is beyond me. He was named under interrogation of his now executed boyfriend, he's been all over the press due to our government and that of the Netherlands intransigence so his chances of discretion are next to nil.

The Foreign and Commowealth Office have papers that Mohsen Yahyavi, a senior Iranian politician thinks that the 'crime' of homosexuality deserves execution, torture or possibly both. The Home Office refusing to comment on this individual case but lie in their statement that:

"The Government is committed to providing protection for those individuals found to be genuinely in need, in accordance with our commitments under international law.We examine with great care each individual case before removal and we will not remove anyone who we believe is at risk on their return."

Clearly that wasn't the case last year when Mr. Kazemi appealed for asylum with them and was turned down. Jacqui Smith is clearly maintaining the Home Office mantra of not being fit for purpose if this man is sent to certain death.

Asylum Laws Gone Mad

The laws governing who could claim asylum in the UK used ot be pretty straight forward. If you life was in danger from systematic persecution if you returned to you home country it was likely that asylum would be granted and you would have the right to abide in this country.

However, the case of Mehdi Kazemi from Iran shows just how stupid the Home Office has become over what are genuine asylum cases and what are immigrants, illegal or otherwise.

Mr Kazemi is 19 years old and in 2004 came to this country to study English. In 2006 his boyfriend had been arrested in Iran charged with sodomy and hanged, but not before under interrogation the police had got him to name Mehdi as his sexual partner. Fearing that the same fate would await him should he return he sought asylum where he was. Admittedly he did not enter the country seeking asylum, but other situations had changed while he was here on a valid visa. When he was turned down he fled to the Netherlands hoping to avoid exportation to almost certainly the gallows.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Columbia University last September that there were no homosexuals in his country, in reponse to a question about two gay men who had been executed there. Almost boastful he was met then by jeers and laughter. However, there may be some essence to his story if every time a homosexual is found they is executed, according to human rights organisations about 4,000 gay men and lesbians have been executed in Iran since 1979. So there will clearly be not many openly gay people left in his country, however, it does not mean they do not exist as the executions keep going on.

The Home Office admits that Iran executes homosexual men, but fails to see this as systematic persecution which would enable Mehdi Kazemi the right to claim asylum. Is this yet another case of them not being fit for purpose, even on the Brown watch.

There is a petition to sign to make you feelings known. Please feel free to sign it and do it fast as time is of an essence in this case.