British Home Secretary Theresa May Photo By Reuters By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) May 24 | A year long study by the LGBT Activist Group, Stonewall UK, released today, documents the fact that ‘Institutional homophobia’ in Britain's asylum system means almost all legitimate LG & T asylum-seekers are refused sanctuary.
No Going Back, published by Stonewall, features for the first time detailed evidence not just from lesbian and gay asylum-seekers but from staff at the UK Border Agency. They acknowledge that they receive no guidance on interviewing gay applicants from countries such as Uganda, Jamaica and Malawi and that determinations are often made on the basis of out of date or inadequate information about an asylum-seeker’s country of origin.
Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill said:
"This report provides both shocking and clear evidence of institutional homophobia in Britain’s asylum system. Legitimate asylum-seekers are frequently being deported. We’ll now be pressing the UK Border Agency and the Home Office urgently to implement the manifesto promises made by both partners in the new government to end this profound injustice."
The report reveals that UKBA don’t know how to question Lesbian and Gay people about their experiences and often assume that they’re either lying or will be able to avoid detection if they’re returned to their home country. Stonewall has developed a series of recommendations to ensure that fundamental errors of judgement made by UKBA staff are urgently rectified. These include robust policy, guidance and training of all UKBA decision-makers to ensure legitimate LGB asylum-seekers are questioned effectively and given fairer case hearings. Home Office Country of Origin services should be improved to reflect up-to-date, accurate information on the scale and nature of anti-gay persecution in countries where it’s currently happening – including the 80 member states of the United Nations where consensual acts between same-sex adults are criminalised.
In Sunday's Edition of The Independent UK, staff correspondents Emily Dugan and Jane Merrick noted that the hard-hitting study will add to pressure on the Home Secretary, Theresa May, and the new coalition government.
This weekend, in a move applauded by campaigners, the Home Secretary said she would block moves by the Ugandan government to force the extradition of Ugandan gay asylum-seekers who had fled to the UK.
Between 2005 – 2009, 98 per cent of cases involving people claiming asylum in the UK on the basis of their sexual orientation were refused by the Home Office. (UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group, 2010). Between 2005 - 2008, 76.5 per cent of all asylum applicants were refused by the Home Office. (Information Centre About Asylum and Refugees, 2009).
The report quotes one UKBA staff member admitting:
"Someone from Jamaica claiming they're gay will just automatically be disbelieved." Another said "Colleagues have said that they don't know what questions to ask; we feel rude prying and embarrassed about asking these questions."
Many cases are turned down simply on the basis that someone fleeing a country where homosexuality is punishable by death or hard labour could simply "live discreetly" – in other words, go into hiding. UKBA staff admitted this was discriminatory.
A Home Office spokesman said:
"The new Government is committed to stopping the deportation of asylum-seekers who have had to leave particular countries because their sexual orientation or gender identification puts them at proven risk of imprisonment, torture or execution. We are considering the best way of implementing this policy. In terms of extradition, the UK will only extradite someone if they are wanted for an offence that is also a crime in the UK. Clearly this does not apply to homosexuality."
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment