Background Information - Student Action for Refugees

Action Week
18-24 February 2013
In Britain we have a long, proud history of protecting people fleeing persecution and preventing the
detention of those who have done nothing wrong. The detention of asylum seekers goes against
both of these traditions.
It is wrong to lock up people who are fleeing persecution as soon as they arrive in the UK. The UK
has signed the UN Convention on Refugees and therefore it's perfectly legal to claim asylum.
It Doesn’t Work
The asylum process is supposed to examine the facts
put by the person asking for protection and grant
refugee status to those who need it.
DFT is ineffective at finding out the true facts of an
asylum case and punishes rather than protects those
who need it.
Stressful. It is really bad. There’s
nothing I can do. I don’t even have a
solicitor, and it is hard work to do
everything myself. I am tired being here,
I miss my kids so much. I cannot take it
no more. Maybe that’s their plan, so
that we can all give up on our life. This
is torture now.
-Mallan, from Malawi
There is good evidence that a successful asylum
system allows asylum seekers to live in the community,
receive good legal advice and engage with the people
making a decision on their claim. This was trialled in 2008 under a programme called the Solihull
Pilot and found that:
Cases were concluded almost twice as quickly as those elsewhere.
Better, more sustainable decisions meant that the number of allowed appeals was halved.
“Considerable potential savings” were identified. The lower rate of allowed appeals meant that
the rise in the Legal Aid budget could be offset by significant savings in UKBA support, Legal
Service Commission funds and Tribunal costs.
The number of people absconding reduced significantly.
The rate of grants of refugee status almost doubled.
The number of removals (as a proportion of refusals) increased.
In Australia asylum seekers who in the past would have been detained are now living in the
community and provided with case management support. For people who are refused asylum, the
number agreeing to leave voluntarily has increased dramatically.
It Harms Vulnerable People
The screening process to decide who is put into Detained Fast Track is very short, public and
ineffective and leads to vulnerable people being locked up.