The United Kingdom and Human Rights - College of Social ...

Minorities, Immigration and Refugees 135
rushed through Parliament to deal with security of the
realm upon the outbreak of the First World War. That
Act and its successor, the Aliens Restriction (Amendment)
Act 1919, were both passed at times of xenophobia,
with the 1919 Act ending the right of appeal,
which re-emerged only in 1969 to be again diminished in
the 1980s.
Today, with modern air travel and undemocratic
military or coupist regimes acting against their political
opponents, the flow of refugees seeking asylum has
become unwelcome to all governments—even that of
Sweden, which long philanthropically encouraged liberation
movements and dissidents in the Third World. Five
European states, including France and Germany, have
signed the Schengen Treaties. These set out a common
policy for dealing with asylum applications, exchange of
computerised information on individuals and transborder
policing. The United Kingdom, not a party, has
shifted much of the burden of avoiding having to deal
directly with immigrants and refugees on to airlines,
imposing duties on them to ensure that prior to
embarking on a flight to the United Kingdom passengers
have all their required entry documentation. Despite this
form of preliminary vetting, the problem is considerable:
up to about 150 refugees daily disembark at Heathrow,
with there being a fivefold increase in the number of
applicants for asylum in the decade 1979-1989. Allegations
of abuse of power are always difficult to prove, 23
but non-governmental organisations assisting refugees
point to alleged injustices and even unlawful action
contrary to the United Kingdom's international obligations
under the United Nations Convention Relating to
the Status of Refugees 1951. The United Kingdom's 1989
Report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee
states that the proportion of successful applicants for
asylum decreased from 60 per cent, in 1981 to 25 per