Why can’t I Claim British Citizenship?
January 22, 2010 by Webmaster · Leave a Comment
By Emma Norton
The Guardian – ukccen was born abroad to an unmarried British father, and so cannot apply for a British passport. Is this discriminatory?
ukccen asks:
I was born outside the UK to an unmarried British father. As of 13 January 2010, all children born to a British parent will have the right to apply for a British passport, except those who fall under my category. Adult children of unmarried British fathers born before 1 July 2006 are the only group of children being discriminated against in terms of a path to British citizenship … Why does this unfairness continue to be allowed?
Both ukccen and EqualityMatters have raised similar issues in the same week. The issues are, however, different and, as replying to both would be very lengthy we are going to reply to ukccen’s this week and will try to come back to EqualityMatter in a future week. It is not clear from the enquiry whether ukccen is male or female but I shall assume for purposes of the advice that she is female. In any case, the advice offered is not affected by her sex.
British Red Cross accused of discrimination
August 18, 2009 by Webmaster · Leave a Comment
By John Plummer
A former British Red Cross employee has claimed she was unfairly dismissed by the humanitarian organisation and suffered race, age and disability discrimination.
An employment tribunal yesterday (Mon) heard how Jackie Rutherford, a service assistant, was made redundant last year during the third phase of a restructure affecting the charity’s London operation.Rutherford, who lives and worked in Essex, was offered the opportunity to apply for other positions at the charity’s centre at Beckenham, Kent but refused to apply.
She claimed the move would add three hours to her daily commute and £76 per month travel costs and that she should have been offered more suitable opportunities that made it easier for her to care for her disabled husband.
She also claimed that the London branch of the British Red Cross was getting rid of a lot of older women and that the consultation period for redundancies, which affected 17 other members of staff, was “a sham”.
Rutherford, a black woman of Guyanese origin, claims she would have been treated differently had she been a white woman.
Two former British Red Cross employees have agreed to support her as witnesses.
Pamela Chapman, operations manager for the London area of the British Red Cross, told the tribunal at Stratford, East London, that Rutherford had been treated no differently than any other member of staff. “A genuine redundancy situation appeared to exist,” said Chapman. “The claimant alleges the consultation was a sham. It was not.”
She said the charity had extended the consultation period and appointed an independent manager to oversee the restructuring process. “I absolutely refute any allegation of discrimination,” said Chapman.
The hearing is scheduled to finish on Friday.
Migrant workers face rental block
August 4, 2009 by Webmaster · Leave a Comment
By Guy Lynn|BBC News
Estate agents are flouting race relations laws by discriminating against migrant workers on behalf of landlords, a BBC undercover investigation has found.
Firms in Boston, Lincolnshire, were found using illegal techniques to stop foreign workers viewing properties.
Three agents rejected a Polish worker sent by the BBC, while a BBC employee was allowed to view the properties.
One firm denied it discriminated in this way, while another said it had created a new race-relations policy.
There is no suggestion that the agents themselves are racist, but the behaviour uncovered has been described by human rights lawyers as a “disturbing and shocking” breach of the Race Relations Act of 1976 – which applies to England, Scotland and Wales.
This act outlaws discrimination on the basis of race, religion, colour, religious beliefs, national or ethnic origins.
Any discrimination against potential tenants or any plan to do so agreed with a landlord is also a breach of the National Association of Estate Agents mandatory code of practice for its members.
‘Problems’
Initially, migrant workers had complained to the BBC that they were having problems gaining access to rental properties.
One of those was Greg Pacha who arrived in the town nine years ago from Poland.
“Sometimes they tell you behind the office, ‘Oh, you are not English, then?’ What does that mean, oh? Does that mean I can’t get the place? I could tell you 100 different stories but just change the name of the agent,” he said.
View full article here
Tackling Race Inequalities an invitation to send in views and comments
April 4, 2009 by Webmaster · Leave a Comment
BNRRN -The Government has produced a discussion document, ‘Tackling Race Inequalities’ to seek views and comments on its priorities for tackling race inequalities. Government has said that the views and comments received will enable it determine where to concentrate resources. Comments are being sought from charities, voluntary organisations, community groups, local authorities, businesses, schools, universities and more.
The discussion document and its responses will enable government look afresh at its strategy for tackling race inequality however it is not intended to identify a single approach to tackling race inequality. Government hopes to start up a wide ranging discussion about the ways in which it’s approach to race equality might develop.
The discussion document aims to investigate the following:
What should a government race equality strategy look like?
How does tackling inequality fit with a broader equality and fairness agenda?
And how to strengthen the society to tackle race inequalities?
The discussion document states that the impact of the economic downturn holds challenges for particular ethnic groups as a result of their specific circumstances. The Government wants to take action to address this situation to ensure that these communities are not excluded from any recovery.
Some of the questions which government seeks views on include:
• How to make race equality maintain a distinct profile within a wider
programme of work to address multiple disadvantages?
• Which are the priority areas for government action on race equality?
• What practical measures should be taken to address disadvantage experienced
by different Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups?
• What role does the voluntary and community sector play in prioritising race
equality at a local level?
The discussion document available at http://my.dotmailer.com/CmpDoc/2008/697/1616_discussion-document.pdf?dm_i=JD,QQ9,52G1J,1MLF,1
The document will be closed for comments on 18 May 2009
BEMWG works mainly with black and ethnic minority community groups interested in health and social care issues, and those who are refugees and asylum seekers experiencing discrimination and disadvantage
For more information ring 020 7923 2229 or 020 7275 9875 or E-mail post@bemwg.org.uk or visit the website www.bemwg.org.uk.
Dropping off the social radar
February 2, 2009 by Webmaster · Leave a Comment
The numbers of disabled people seeking asylum in the UK is not known. But, as Sunil Peck reports, what is clear is that those who are here all too often fall between the two stools of social care and asylum support provision
Youcef Bey-Zekkoub is one of a hidden population of disabled asylum-seekers. He has come to the UK to seek refuge from persecution in his own country.
Bey-Zekkoub fled Algeria where he was beaten up and tortured during the civil war. He opted to seek asylum in the UK because he thought he would receive fair treatment from the authorities here.
But Bey-Zekkoub has had to fight indifference and even discrimination to access the support and services which he is entitled to while his application for refugee status is being considered.
“I suffered a lot and I even ended up in a psychiatric hospital because it got too much. I don’t regret coming here though, and I am hoping that something good will come out of this.”
As one example, Bey-Zekkoub is a wheelchair user but he only received a suitable chair three years after entering the UK, thanks to the assistance of the Spinal Injuries Association.
His experiences are typical of many disabled asylum-seekers. When he arrived in the UK in 2003, he sought information from disability and asylum support organisations.
“Asylum organisations see you are in a wheelchair and they get stuck, they can not handle it. I keep emailing and ringing them but they have no idea where to start.”
His local disability organisation was unhelpful and told him that as he was an asylum-seeker he should go back to an asylum support organisation for assistance.
Bey-Zekkoub now lives in a private flat and survives on around £40 a week from social services.
He says that the flat is a “nightmare”.
“I need to transfer myself into the bath and it is not really safe. The toilet is really tiny so once I go inside with my wheelchair there is no room left to transfer yourself. The kitchen as well, there is nothing I can use. Everything is too high, the cooker, the cupboards and the sink.”
He has complained to the council but the landlord will not allow them to adapt the property. Bey-Zekkoub’s status means that he is not entitled to live in social housing.
But he can not understand why, if his local authority is prepared to pay his rent, it will not allow him to find a more accessible property to live in.
When I speak to Bey-Zekkoub, he tells me that his fridge is empty and that fresh food has become a luxury. He is indebted to his college which has given him money to buy food from its hardship fund.
As Jonathan Ellis, director of policy and development at the Refugee Council, puts it: “Provisions for disabled asylum seekers are minimal. Asylum seekers are supported outside the mainstream benefits system, and are not entitled to disability living allowance. In some cases, where there is a need for specialist care, they will be allowed to apply for Section 21 support which is provided by the local authority under the National Assistance Act. However the threshold for this gets higher every year.”
Bey-Zekkoub’s immigration status means that although he does not qualify to receive direct payments to meet his care needs, his local authority does pay for him to have home care. He says that he has had a string of different personal assistants (PAs) which he feels causes a loss of dignity: “I don’t like having to show my bottom to so many women.”
Bey-Zekkoub can not understand why his local authority is happy to pay for him to receive support at home but will not give him the freedom to employ his own PA.
The number of asylum-seekers in the UK in 2007 was more than 570,000 according to the government, but there is no official figure for disabled asylum-seekers in the UK. What’s more, academic research into their needs is scarce.
In 2002, research published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that disabled asylum-seekers were being denied support because of confusion among social services and other service providers about what they were entitled to.
While a second study in 2008 concluded that disabled asylum-seekers in London still encounter significant barriers to accessing statutory services for health, housing and benefits.
Claire Glasman, from WinVisible, an organisation which campaigns for rights for disabled asylum-seekers, says that the situation is getting worse and talks of a “climate of refusal” among service providers. Indeed, WinVisible campaigned on behalf of a group of disabled asylum-seekers who were being denied passes for free travel in London. Lambeth Council reversed its position after a legal challenge.
“Because successive governments have had a witch-hunt into so called bogus asylum-seekers, there is discrimination which affects every area.”
She adds that cuts to the legal aid system are also making it harder for disabled asylum-seekers to challenge discrimination.
Another disabled asylum-seeker, Iman Saab, is on the run from her family in Lebanon. They threatened to kill her after she converted to Christianity.
Unlike Bey-Zekkoub, she is happy with the house she lives in but it took months for her to secure the appropriate adaptations.
She does not have the right to take up employment but is desperate to gain refugee status so she can start looking for a job.
She applied for refugee status ten years ago and yearns to work as a fashion designer.
“I would like my papers so I can do what I want to do, I would like to be free. I would like to drive but I can’t because I don’t have disability allowances. I would like to work and do something to feel like I am human.”
She goes to college, but the main reason for doing so is not academic.
“I study because I like to go out and see people. If I stayed at home, I would die.”
She has been told by her local authority that although she finds it hard to propel a manual wheelchair, she is not entitled to an electric wheelchair because she does not claim disability benefits. She can not afford to buy one herself.
She says that she only got more than 45 minutes a week home care after ending up in hospital following a fall at home. She had been trying for seven months. It was arranged by the hospital social worker not the community worker.
Douglas Joy of the Disability Law Service says that this is a familiar story. He says that scant resources often mean that social services will be obstructive and do their utmost to avoid providing support to disabled asylum-seekers.
“In my experience, if a disabled asylum-seeker turns up at social services, they will be told that social services can not help them and that the National Asylum Support Service are the people that should be helping them, and they sort of fall down the middle.”
But although Saab and Bey-Zekkoub face a great deal of hardship, are they deserving of any more sympathy than the thousands of disabled UK citizens who also endure poverty and discrimination?
Claire Glasman thinks that they are. She warns that the demonisation of disabled asylum-seekers could set a dangerous precedent for disabled UK citizens.
“The way that people seeking asylum have been treated has been to attack the basic safety net which we all benefit from. Standards of respectful treatment and entitlement are basic for a caring society. It is a precedent for what could happen with us, because we are fighting welfare reforms where you have to prove that you are doing work-focused activity as a condition of claiming benefit, and if you don’t behave in a way which is prescribed to you then you are facing benefit sanctions. It is an attack on the expectation that vulnerable people should be looked after and not left to beg on the street.”
Angela Nhongo, a disabled asylum-seeker now living in Manchester, became so frustrated by her experiences of trying to secure support, that she decided to set up a one-stop shop to provide information for others like her.
Nhongo spent hours in her local library ploughing through books and leaflets researching the support she was entitled to. But she says that not everyone has the confidence to do what she did, and do things like find organisations who can supply access equipment like screenreading software and wheelchairs.
But while Nhongo is in a position to make the lives of disabled asylum-seekers easier, she is in no position to change the fact that disabled asylum-seekers are often left feeling like second-class citizens by service providers and disability organisations.
Glasman says that mainstream disability organisations must do more to reach out and engage with disabled asylum-seekers. But she says that disabled asylum-seekers need to be recognised as a group of people in need of support in the same way that disabled UK residents are.
“A lot of people are now objecting to the separate asylum support system, and are asking why people can’t be in the mainstream, and why people don’t have the right to work as well.”
She adds: “We would like people to be able to be re-integrated into the overall welfare system and not be treated separately.” – Disability Now
UN chief calls for protection of migrants amid financial crisis
October 29, 2008 by Webmaster · Leave a Comment
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on countries battered by the financial crisis to keep their doors open to foreign workers, stressing that migration could be used to help lift them out of economic gloom.
Ban said the world’s 200 million migrants had become vulnerable in the face of the crisis, which, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), could lead to some 20 million job losses worldwide by 2009.
“Today, we face a cascade of national financial crises throughout the world. Almost none of our economies is insulated,” Ban told delegates to the Global Forum on Migration and Development [see: http://www.gfmd2008.org/welcome.html] in Manila on 29 October. “Global growth is slowing, unemployment is rising, personal hardship is spreading and anxiety is increasing. Many countries have slipped into recession.
“It would be naive to think the current crisis will have no effect on the movement of people across borders, and on how our publics perceive migration and the migrants in their midst,” Ban said, noting that migration flows were already reversing.
“In several instances, we are seeing a net outflow from countries facing economic crises, especially from badly affected sectors such as construction and tourism, where many migrants are employed,” Ban said. “There is also mounting evidence of a significant slowdown in remittance flows.”
The Philippines has more than eight million labour migrants abroad, remitting a record US$14.4 billion in 2007 or about 10 percent of GDP.
And while the world’s fourth-largest source of migrant workers has yet to feel an impact, it is still bracing for a drop in remittances by early next year.
Ban said “human mobility” could help address “enormous imbalances” that have led to harsh inequalities, which he said was “one of the most dangerous realities we need to confront. And with or without an economic crisis, the underlying forces that have led 200 million people to cross international borders in pursuit of a better life will not disappear,” Ban said.
Risk of discrimination
William Lacy Swing, director-general of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), separately warned that there remained a risk that migrants “will be singled out and stigmatised” amid the financial crisis and governments should make sure their rights remained protected.
“We need to make a concerted effort to prevent this and ensure that public perceptions of migrants are fair and balanced,” Swing said. “True, the demand for migrant labour may decline in some contexts and remittance levels fall. Yet the fundamental need for labour migration in certain countries and sectors will continue to be the dominant trend in the long-term due to persistent economic and demographic realities.”
He said labour policies “need to remain flexible and responsive. Let us not be short-sighted, lose sight of fundamentals nor allow migrants to become targets of xenophobia or racism,” he said.
“As responses to cushion the impact of economic downturn are developed, let’s ensure that migrant needs are specifically considered in the solutions and that the impact for them of both the downturn and resulting remedial measures is well understood.” – IRIN
Disability Campaigner faces Deportation
September 2, 2008 by Webmaster · Leave a Comment
After fleeing persecution in his native Kenya because of his disabled rights campaigning, Peter Gichura is working hard to secure the rights of local disabled people in the UK.
