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Building a Fair Asylum System

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Building a Fair Asylum System THE KIRKHOPE COMMISSION ON ASYLUM BUILDING A FAIR ASYLUM SYSTEM September 2003 building a fair asylum system 2 building a fair asylum system CONTENTS Foreword: by Timothy Kirkhope MEP 4 Executive Summary 5 Preamble 7 Twenty Recommendations 9 Overview 21 Appendix 1: Membership 23 Appendix 2: Meeting dates 25 Appendix 3: Evidence 26 3 building a fair asylum system FOREWORD Following the publication of the Conservative Party’s interim asylum proposals in Spring 2003, I by Timothy was asked by the Shadow Home Secretary, The Rt Kirkhope MEP Hon Oliver Letwin MP, to set up and chair a small Commission to consider those policies against a wider background and, if possible, to put forward further suggestions for consideration by the Party prior to the preparation of our manifesto for the next General Election. The members of the Commission are shown in the Appendix and I should like to thank all of them for their contributions. The Commission met on twelve occasions in London and took oral and written evidence, as well as carrying out a thorough review of the present situation and the potential action to be taken by an incoming Conservative Government. This report attempts to provide solutions to the present asylum crisis. It is not a description of the current situation because much has already been written on this. I believe that our recommendations, if implemented, would assist in improving asylum procedures and outcomes. I should particularly like to thank Martin Howe QC for the legal advice which he has provided to the Commission during its deliberations. I would like to thank Matthew Elliott who has acted as Special Adviser to the Commission, Catherine Gilliard my Political Assistant and researcher Lisa Vanhala. I am also grateful to those who have contributed in any other way to our work. I hope this report will form a significant part of our future asylum policy. Timothy Kirkhope MEP, September 2003 4 building a fair asylum system EXECUTIVE The Commission recommends the following, to create a fair asylum system: SUMMARY Recommendation 1: The Government should publish accurate statistics on the level of migration in and out of the UK. Recommendation 2: The Conservative Party should restate Britain’s opt-out from Schengen. Recommendation 3: Documents should be photographed or scanned before international journeys to the UK. Recommendation 4: People should be allowed to apply for asylum in British Embassies and Consulates. Recommendation 5: Application Centres should be established in “safe” neighbouring countries and supported from our Overseas Aid budget. Recommendation 6: Consideration should be given to establishing one or more off-shore Application Centres in the British Isles. Recommendation 7: The ‘white list’ should come under the joint control of the Home Office and the Foreign Office. Recommendation 8: Like Germany, Britain should only accept state persecution as a legitimate reason for granting asylum. Recommendation 9: The Government should establish an Independent Application Board whose remit would be controlled by Parliament. Recommendation 10: The application system should not involve the normal UK judicial processes or judicial reviews. 5 building a fair asylum system Recommendation 11: The application system should not involve legal aid or appeals to the European Court. Recommendation 12: Successful asylum applicants should initially be granted temporary asylum. Recommendation 13: Any quota on the number of people granted asylum should be interpreted as a maximum quota, rather than a rigid quota. Recommendation 14: The database of fingerprints of unsuccessful asylum seekers should be improved and shared with other countries. Recommendation 15: Asylum seekers should sign a Contract of Obligations when temporary asylum is granted. Recommendation 16: Britain should encourage further discussion and work on the introduction of Europe-wide biometric ID cards. Recommendation 17: The Overseas Aid budget should be repatriated from the European Union, and should become a major resource in Britain’s asylum system. Recommendation 18: Britain should not unilaterally withdraw from international Treaty obligations. Recommendation 19: Race relations and asylum and immigration should be a combined portfolio. Recommendation 20: The Conservative Party should continue to oppose the emerging European Union asylum policy. 6 building a fair asylum system PREAMBLE The Commission believes that the UK should always provide a fair deal for genuine asylum seekers. Throughout history Britain has provided a home for migrants, including those fleeing persecution in their native lands. From the Huguenots to the Kosovans, Britain has provided a refuge for those in need. Controlled migration has contributed to our society and our culture and has arguably helped us to maintain a leading role in the world. We are mindful that we have a moral obligation, enshrined in all religions and creeds, to provide refuge and a home for asylum seekers—a diverse group of people who cannot be treated as a homogenous group. Sadly, however, in recent years Britain's asylum system has been increasingly abused. Our traditional tolerance has been tested and good race relations have come under serious threat. The complete failure of Government to put in place mechanisms for accurately assessing the numbers and categories of those entering and leaving the country means that we simply do not have the statistics which would allow us to plan properly for the needs of the country in the fields of health, education, housing and social services. Even after due legal process, we simply have no idea of who is here and who has left. The enlargement of the European Union and the rights of free movement within Europe further complicates the situation. Even though Britain enjoys a certain amount of control over its borders through its Schengen opt-out, we have failed to take advantage of that position for the benefit of both our resident population and those asylum seekers with due 7 building a fair asylum system cause to be in the country. We therefore need to undertake a fundamental review of our asylum system in order to re-establish a fair deal for genuine asylum seekers. Although the Commission was not asked to look at the vexed question of immigration as a whole, the line between asylum and immigration policies has become increasingly obscured in recent years. We believe that our whole immigration policy should be considered in greater detail as a matter of urgency to reflect the special priorities and requirements of the UK. Creating a fairer system for asylum necessarily involves other countries taking their responsibility seriously too. Britain is the most densely populated country in the western world. Even the UN accepts that we take proportionately more asylum seekers than other countries. We must all play a responsible role and fairness applies not just to asylum seekers but also to the nation states. The enlargement of Europe and the requirements for free movement will place even heavier burdens on us in future. In the meantime, however, cases such as the recent conviction of an Albanian human trafficker in the Belgium courts demonstrate the need for more urgent EU-wide action. We must cooperate with our European neighbours to convict such criminals, but this does not require European Union harmonisation. We owe it to genuine asylum seekers to penalise those who profit from their plight and to re-establish fair and transparent systems of handling applications which enjoy public confidence, both at home and abroad. 8 building a fair asylum system TWENTY RECOMMENDATIONS The Commission recommends the following, to create a fair asylum system: Recommendation 1: The Government should publish accurate statistics on the level of migration in and out of the UK. The Government needs to distinguish between refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers and should know how many people are living illegally in Britain. Just as the police need proper figures on the number and type of crimes being carried out, so too must the Home Office publish accurate figures on migration. But there is a paucity of verifiable and meaningful statistics, especially over departures from the UK. For example, the Home Office does not know how many failed asylum seekers leave of their own volition or how many persons admitted for a temporary period then overstay. Details of all non- EU/EEA nationals entering and leaving the UK should be recorded electronically. Sensible and workable internal reporting procedures should be put in place for this. In all major areas of Government expenditure, resources are deployed and need is met on the basis of population statistics and demographic information. This is particularly so in healthcare, education and social and public services. As illegal residents are unaccounted for when budgets are set, even an error of 100,000 people can have a dramatic effect on provision. If the statistics are out 9 building a fair asylum system by millions, which could be the case, the overall provision will be drastically inadequate and will inevitably result in hardship. Even Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has admitted that as many as five percent of London’s population is illegal; but does his strategy for the city take this into account? In order to calculate population statistics and determine provision, we believe that Britain should re-introduce outward controls and checks at our airports and ports and consider the establishment of a new Border Police Force comprising of components from the present Immigration, Customs, Coastguard, and Police services. This should work in co-operation with any new “homeland security” organization. Recommendation 2: The Conservative Party should restate Britain’s opt-out from Schengen. The Labour Party has diluted our opt-out from the Schengen Agreement, but an opt-out is a necessary component of a fair asylum system. Without it we are unable to control our borders or compile meaningful statistics on the UK’s population.
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