UK policy to deport refugees for 'extremist behaviour' criticised
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Version 0 of 1. UK immigration laws permitting refugees to be deported if they exhibit “extremist behaviour” may breach a United Nations convention, the organisation’s general assembly is to be told. In a speech condemning states for exploiting security fears to frustrate their international legal obligation to provide safe havens, the UN official responsible for reporting on counter-terrorism, Ben Emmerson QC, will criticise the UK’s record. Emmerson, who recently left his post as counsel to the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, has been the UN’s special rapporteur on “protecting human rights while countering terrorism” since 2011. “The link between displacement of people from their homes and risks to national security in the countries in which they seek refuge has been irresponsibly and misleadingly overblown in many states, with the refugee crisis being used to stoke public fears of terrorism,” he is due to tell the UN session on Friday. “There is almost no evidence that terrorist groups take advantage of refugee flows to carry out acts of terrorism, or that refugees are somehow more prone to radicalisation than others. These claims are analytically and statistically unfounded.” Following the Islamic State-inspired attacks on Paris last autumn there were widespread reports that some of the gunmen had infiltrated refugee groups travelling through Greek islands. Those reports have since been thrown into doubt amid uncertainty over the black market trade in fake passports. Referring to legislative measures designed to single out suspected radicals from the refugee population, Emmerson says: “The United Kingdom, as just one example here, has enacted legislation allowing for the review and revocation of refugee status if a person is thought to have exhibited extremist behaviour, or if their dependents have acted in a manner inconsistent with British values. “Legislation of this kind, with the vagaries that are necessarily entailed in such generalised definitions, runs a risk of falling short of the requirements of the 1951 refugee convention.” His reference is to a Home Office report, Asylum Policy Instruction: Revocation of Refugee Status, published earlier this year. It states: “Extremist behaviour: where there is any evidence that a refugee or their dependents have engaged in unacceptable behaviours (whether in the UK or abroad) considered not conducive to the public good or has acted in a way which undermines British values, their status must be reviewed [and referred to the special cases unit ].” It also notes that: “Although there is no requirement to formally respond to representations from [the UN high commissioner for refugees] caseworkers must take their comments into account as part of the decision on whether to proceed with revocation and provide UNHCR with a copy of the final decision.” Elsewhere in his speech, Emmerson says: “Almost without exception, refugees and migrants do not pose a risk – they are in fact at risk, fleeing regions where terrorist groups are most active. It is beyond question that terrorist activity, in the form of asymmetrical armed conflict, is a significant driver for internal displacement and the flight of refugees. “Many states have introduced stricter border controls, built fences and walls to keep migrants and refugees out, engaged in push-back operations, criminalised irregular migration and abandoned pledges to accept refugees. “Among the measures that pose serious human rights concerns are ethnic or religious profiling, the disproportionate collection of often inaccurate biometric and other data, forced fingerprinting and, perhaps most seriously, the criminalisation of irregular migration.” Emmerson also raises concerns about the EU/Turkey agreement, which “provides for the blanket return of all migrants crossing from Turkey into Greece”. He said he was concerned about the “absence of individualised consideration and the risk of detention or ill treatment in Turkey”. Emmerson’s report on the impact of counter-terrorism measures on the human rights of migrants and refugees, which details his criticisms, is on the UN’s website. |