Refugee Council launches film for Human Rights Day

On Human Rights Day, the Refugee Council is launching a short film commemorating the people the charity has protected and supported over the last 60 years.

The film, “60 years of refugee protection”, features the testimonies and views of refugees who fled conflicts around the world and rebuilt their lives in the UK, in each decade since 1951 – the year the charity came together to offer support and advice to refugees. With British actress Zoe Wanamaker’s voiceover, the film features a refugee from each decade from Hungary, Kenya, Chile, Ghana, Kosovo and Liberia.

The film is the culmination of the Refugee Council’s 60th anniversary celebrations in 2011, as well as the 60th year of the UN Convention for Refugees.

You can watch the film here.

On behalf of refugees thank you for your support.

If you haven’t already donated to the Colin Firth appeal, you can give a gift here.

Strategic Legal Fund now operational

A Strategic Legal Fund for Refugee Children and Young People has been set up to fund strategic litigation on the issue of… I think you can guess from the title. It is funded by the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and managed by MigrationWork. An expert panel has been set up (disclosure: somehow, I’m on it) to assess applications on a monthly basis. Applications for funding are now open and welcomed.

A description of the purpose of the fund is best lifted from the website:

The SLF supports strategic legal work: work which goes beyond securing justice for an individual to make a significant contribution to law, practice and procedures that upholds and promotes the rights of refugee and asylum seeking children and young people (up to the age of 21)…

The SLF will test a new model for supporting legal work in the UK by providing flexible and responsive funding. It will distribute up to £300,000 to eligible providers of specialist level legal services to undertake a non-profit making piece of work which does not qualify for public funding. Initially, cases in areas of law relevant to refugee children, including asylum, immigration, human rights, community care, housing, education, discrimination and health, may be supported. See How to apply for more details.

Strategic litigation in the field of immigration and asylum  is all but dead in the water after the demise of RMJ and IAS so this looks like a very interesting experiment. All involved know that the fund cannot repair the damage done to children’s cases by cuts to legal aid, but the idea of trying to use a relatively small amount of money to bring about structural change is an interesting one.

Search for refugees who came to the UK in the 1960’s

Do you know any refugees who came to the UK in the 1960’s?

The Refugee Council is looking for someone who may be willing to take part in a short film we are making for our 60^th Anniversary year and to commemorate the 60^th Anniversary of the UN Convention for Refugees.   We are looking for someone who came here as a refugee in the 1960’s and settled here.

In practical terms it will involve a couple of hours of a person’s time at a location convenient to them.

It would involve talking about the person’s experience of coming to the UK, and how the person was able to rebuild their life here thanks to the UN Convention for Refugees.  The actual camera time will be very short because this is only a short film.

The main aim of our film is to highlight the lives saved by the UN Convention over the last 60 years and in the future, as well as to highlight the work of the Refugee Council. We plan to raise awareness’ and to help us build support for the important work we do.

Please email us as soon as possible if you can help!

Refugee Council Training

Key Issues in asylum- 21st September, London – the course content includes: the distinctions between refugees, asylum seekers and other migrant groups, the current international context of asylum and the causes of flight of refugees, the current legislative structure including the New Asylum Model, where asylum applications are logged (at port and in-country),the role and structure of the UK Border Agency Asylum Teams, the asylum determination process including the appeal process,the Case Resolution programme
possible implications of future legislative changes. More…

An Introduction to asylum support - 22nd September, London – this course covers routes of access to basic entitlements, the UK Border Agency Asylum Support system,the role of UK Border Agency Asylum Teams, possible restrictions in the support process (Section 55 and Section 57), the different asylum support options, the dispersal process, support under current legislation, possible implications of future changes in policy and procedure. More…

End of Process: Support for asylum seekers who have been refused asylum – 28th September, London – course content includes: clarifies some misconceptions and misunderstandings regarding ‘categories’ of refugee and asylum seekers, identify the routes to obtaining legal advice and the processes of making a fresh asylum claim, define the eligibility criteria and entitlements under Section 4 support, recognise who is eligible for community care support,discern when different client groups are entitled to healthcare, education and employment. More…

Delegates will receive a certificate of attendance.  All our courses are delivered by experienced practitioners, ensuring they are relevant, up-to-date and practical.  All courses count towards OISC CPD.   All courses are also available for in-house delivery and can be tailored to suit your requirements.

Looking to train five delegates or more? Our in-house courses may be more prove more cost-effective, up to 20 delegates can be trained at once, in a venue of your choice. Enquire about inhouse courses.

To book email [email protected] All courses cost £109 for registered charities and £175

For a complete list of our current training courses, please visit our website, to make an enquiry contact us.

Mo Farah winning the Silver medal

Press Release

Federation of Muslim Organisations congratulates Mr Farah on his performance in winning the Silver medal at the World Athletics Championship in Daegu.

Federation PR Officer Suleman Nagdi said ‘Although it was heart-breaking to see Mr Farah come so close to winning the Gold medal, that he still won a Silver medal is testament to his amazing talent and dedication. As a refugee from Somalia, he serves as an inspiration to all British Muslims, as proof of how commitment, dedication and faith can help Muslim individuals flourish in British society. I wish him the greatest of luck for his future pursuits and will support him in his pursuit of Gold at next year’s Olympics in London’.

Suleman Nagdi

Mobile 07759 446555

Justice for asylum seekers 60 years on

On the 60th anniversary of the signing of the refugee convention, we are writing to express our concerns about the injustices still faced by many people who seek asylum in the UK. As writers, actors and broadcasters, we are particularly concerned about Lydia Besong, who is seeking asylum from Cameroon. Lydia and her husband, Bernard Batey, were members of an opposition political organisation and Lydia was imprisoned and experienced sexual violence in jail. Although she has well grounded fear of further persecution if returned to Cameroon, Lydia has been detained in the UK, and has recently been refused asylum or leave to appeal to the High Court.

Read more

Source: Guardian Letters

Britain is still no refuge for refugees

Despite Nick Clegg’s promises, child detention never quite went away and is now making a comeback.

Read more

Source: Guardian

Refugee Council Training

• An introduction to child protection issues in working with children from abroad- Wednesday 14th September, London
• An introduction to working with unaccompanied children- Tuesday 20th September, London
• Key Issues in Asylum- Wednesday 21st September, London

Introduction to Asylum Support- Thursday 22nd September, London

• End of process: Support for asylum seekers who have been refused asylum- Wednesday 28th September, London

Age assessment awareness and working with age-disputed young people- Tuesday 4th October, London

• The Refugee Council Therapeutic Casework model: Supporting clients with mental wellbeing needs – Wednesday 5th October, London
• Supporting women affected by sexual violence- Wednesday 12th October, London
• Refugees and migrants: Entitlement to housing and other services – Wednesday 19th October, London

To book email [email protected]For a complete list of their current training courses, please visit their website, to make an enquiry contact them.

Somalians face hunger and fear in Kenya’s refugee camps

Victims of war and drought are at the mercy of bandits as they trek miles across the desert to seek UN help. Then corrupt officials demand starving families pay for food

Read more

Source: Guardian

New Refugee Studies Centre Resource DVD

The RSC will soon release the latest edition of its Resource DVD including all RSC publications to date since its establishment on one easily searchable DVD available free of charge.

Get more info here

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