Government cannot justify inhuman treatment of asylum seekers

9.55.38am UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 30th Mar 2007

Commenting on the report released today by the Joint Committee on Human Rights which finds that the treatment of asylum seekers in the UK reaches inhuman and degrading limits, Dr Evan Harris, Liberal Democrat member of the committee, said:

"This report criticises the Government not just for breaching the human rights of, and standards of common decency toward, this group of vulnerable human beings, but also for the failure to provide anything in the way of evidence to justify their policies."

"It is bad enough to breach the human rights of asylum seekers, but to do it in an immoral attempt to deter asylum claims or to encourage people to leave is worse, especially when the Government in so many areas is unable to provide any evidence that these policies have the desired effect."

"The disgraceful treatment of seriously ill people from Africa who are in this country is in stark contrast to the rhetoric of ministers when it comes to the same people living and dying in Africa. Denial of medical treatment and forced destitution of such unfortunates is not something we suspect Gordon Brown discusses with Bob Geldof or Bono when they gather to express concern about the destitute and sick of Africa."

"The degradation through denial of subsistence or the use of vouchers for asylum seeking families is a depressing contrast with the Prime Minister's grand talk about reducing child poverty."

"In several areas - the enforced destitution of families who the Government wants to leave, the denial of any income to failed asylum seekers who can not leave and the use of vouchers to support certain families - the Government is rejecting evidence of what is effective and is breaching its own human rights standards"

"Little of the support system for asylum seekers escapes censure in this report - section 55 of the 2002 Act, section 9 of the 2004 Act, section 4 of the 1999 Act - they are cruel and do not work."

Related Link:

JCHR Tenth Report of Session 2006-07, 'The Treatment of Asylum Seekers'.