Monday 20 April 2009
The Human Rights Commission will today (20 April 2009) at its annual conference launch a new investigation report on the work of the UK Border Agency in Northern Ireland. The report entitled ‘Our Hidden Borders: The UK Border Agency’s Powers of Detention’ examines the extent to which human rights are protected in the decision to detain individuals who are not nationals of the UK, and how those detained can have their rights better protected. The findings of the report highlight a range of human rights concerns and as a result the Commission has made a number of recommendations to government that will make the experience of those coming into contact with UKBA officials compliant with international human rights standards.
NIHRC Chief Commissioner, Monica McWilliams, stated:
“Individuals who are not nationals of the UK are particularly vulnerable to breaches of their human rights. Language barriers and a lack of accessible information on rights can exacerbate these vulnerabilities. When those individuals are, as is current practice, detained by state agencies the need for independent inspection and oversight is crucial, which is why it was extremely important for the Commission to carry out this work.”
The investigation focused on the Border Agency’s ‘Operation Gull’, examining the interaction between immigration officers and passengers being questioned at Northern Ireland’s air and seaports. The report also examines the practice of UKBA ‘visits’ to people’s homes and places of work for the purposes of finding individuals to remove from the UK.
Co-author of the report, Dr Nazia Latif, added:
“Our findings raise a range of concerns about the way immigration officers engage with individuals and how they arrive at the decision to make a recommendation for detention. We have also raised concern about the lack of consistent practice informing detainees of their right to legal advice.
We have stressed in the report that there is a need to ensure that all individuals are afforded the same level of protection and that a uniform process, that respects human rights, is applied to all.”
A number of high profile speakers will address the conference including a senior government representative and Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty. The conference will also review recent initiatives such as the Commission’s advice on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.
Notes to editors
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The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission was established in 1999, by the Northern Ireland Act 1998, to protect and promote the human rights of everyone in Northern Ireland. The powers and functions of the Commission include reviewing law and practice, advising the government, promoting an awareness of human rights and taking cases to court.
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The Commission’s new investigation report 'Our Hidden Borders: The UK Border Agency’s Powers of Detention' was co-authored by Dr Nazia Latif and Agnieszka Martynowicz. It will be available from the Commissions website, www.nihrc.org, on 20 April 2009, here.
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Operation Gull is carried out by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) immigration officers at Northern Ireland ports: Belfast City Airport, Belfast International Airport, Belfast City Docks and Larne Docks. It involves UKBA staff being stationed at ports and asking incoming passengers for identification in order to verify their immigration status in the UK.
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The Commission’s 10 th anniversary conference takes place on 20 April from 9.30 am at the Hilton Hotel Belfast. The Conference will focus on 'Humans without Rights: the impact of immigration law, policy and practice' . The Commission will launch its new investigation report at the conference. A panel of local, national and international experts will explore current debates on immigration law, policy and practice. Press are invited to attend the conference. Download the full conference programme here.
- A number of high profile speakers will take part in the conference including:
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Shami Chakrabarti, Director, Liberty: Shami Chakrabarti has been Director of the leading human rights group in Britain, Liberty (the National Council for Civil Liberties) since September 2003. Shami first joined Liberty as In-House Counsel on 10 September 2001. She became heavily involved in its engagement with the “War on Terror” and with the defence and promotion of human rights values in Parliament, the Courts and wider society. A Barrister by background, she was called to the Bar in 1994 and worked as a lawyer in the Home Office from 1996 until 2001 under Conservative and Labour Governments. Since becoming Liberty’s Director she has written, spoken and broadcast widely on the importance of the post-WW2 human rights framework as an essential component of democratic society. She is Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, a Governor of the London School of Economics and the British Film Institute, a Visiting Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford and a Master of the Bench of Middle Temple.
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Mungo Deans, Resident Senior Immigration Judge, Asylum & Immigration Tribunal: Mungo qualified as a solicitor in Scotland before becoming a law lecturer at the University of Dundee, specialising in public law. He has been sitting on tribunals for nearly 20 years - first on a part time basis and then full time from 1996. Prior to 2005 he was Regional Adjudicator in Glasgow and also sat in London as a part time legal member of the then Immigration Appeal Tribunal. On the establishment of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in 2005 Mungo became the Resident Senior Immigration Judge for Scotland and Northern Ireland. He has been sitting regularly in Belfast to hear asylum and immigration appeals since 1995.
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Don Flynn, Director, Migrants Rights Network: Don Flynn has worked in the field of migration policy since the mid-1970s, when he started work as a caseworker at a London law centre. Since then he has worked as policy officer for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, a national legal rights organisation. He currently leads the Migrants’ Rights Network, which works to improve networking between migrant and refugee community organisations and other civil society organisations working to support the rights of all migrants. He is also involved in networking with migrants’ rights organisations across Europe, currently serving at the Chair of PICUM – the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants. He regularly writes on themes relating to the politics of immigration and edited the recent collection of essays 'Towards a Progressive Immigration Policy', published by Compass & the Barrow Cadbury Trust (September 2007). |
