Thread: Without formal returns agreements with those "safe countries" this is meaningless. You cannot "return" anyone to a country which hasn't agreed to take them. The end result therefore is leaving asylum seekers in limbo for even longer. 1/ #r4today
Now, ironically, the UK does have an agreement with Albania, but calling it a "safe country" is stretching the definition to breaking point, particularly in relation to the protection of trafficking victims. 2/ state.gov/reports/2022-t…
Pretty certain something has changed in UK's relationship with neighbouring countries since the last Labour Government. Ah, yes, that's it, it left the EU, which means it left the Dublin Regulations, which had formalized mechanisms for returning people. 3/ commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-brief…
The principle of the "safe country" designation has been condemned already in the past by UNHCR as incompatible with international law, not least ways because you cannot guarantee that a country while safe for many is safe for all. 4/ unhcr.org/excom/scip/3ae…
And safety is most definitely not predicated on whether the state is or is not the one conducting the persecution directly. If there are good reasons to feel the state cannot provide protection, such as corruption, then someone can still seek asylum. 5/ unhcr.org/1951-refugee-c…
All of this is publicly available information. It hasn't been hidden away so that journalists can't find it. It would be really helpful if the media stopped just reporting Home Office press releases as if they were the word of God and actually applied some critical thinking. 6/
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I say this as someone who is Christian. If you blame immigration on the decline of people identifying as Christian you are de-facto saying people shouldn't have a choice about whether or not they are Christian. The majority of people say they aren't. That's not about migration 1/
"This is a Christian country". Well, yeah, it's basically a theocracy if you want to look at very practical issues such as Bishops in the House of Lords or the head of state being also the head of the church, but does it matter if it is or it isn't? In real terms?. 2/
I'd argue not. My faith is my faith, and it is fairly complicated as it is anyway. I'll believe in what I believe no matter if anyone else does or doesn't. So long as it isn't causing harm then why do you honestly care what someone else believes or does not believe in? 3/
Albanian is not necessarily a safe country. It isn't safe if you are being trafficked or fleeing a blood feud. It is not safe for them to be returned. Albanian trafficking victims face torture and abuse. Davis is advocating for denying torture victims safety. #r4today
It isn't only if you are being oppressed by the state, as David Davis claims, it is if the State cannot provide protection, and seeing as even the US State Department flags high level links between Albanian gangs and the Albanian government, so there isn't protection. #r4today
Nobody @DavidDavisMP is "voluntarily being trafficked". All your suggestions are doing is ensuring that a never ending cycle of trafficking continues, strengthen gangs and putting more victims at risk. Albanians aren't "gaming the system". Many need protection. #r4today
"Why are trans people always in the news?" Maybe because people keep attacking them. Look, reality is most trans and non-binary people don't impact on your life at all and just want to tick along in private. The hate they constantly get does impact on their lives though. 1/
How about you the increase in hate crimes against trans individuals? Do you think that isn't linking to prominent individuals constantly attacking them and trying to make out that doing so is "legitimate"? 2/ bbc.com/news/uk-631579…
Do you support racism? Do you happily identify as a racist? Some do I don't deny, but do you? Because if you are using "legitimate concerns" arguments as a means to attack a tiny minority of people you are taking a page out of their playbook, and all it does is lead to harm. 3/
THREAD: Worth noting that this report blows a hole the size of the Mariana Trench in government claims about asylum seekers in general and "deterrents" in particular. Not surprising that the Home Office tried to prevent its release. 1/ freemovement.org.uk/wp-content/upl…
"Changes to border controls and reception conditions can force asylum seeking migrants to change routes and destination country." - basically closing routes just forces people into making longer more dangerous journeys. 2/
"Many asylum seekers have little to no understanding of welfare policies and access to provisions with many coming from countries with no welfare state." - So. no, asylum seekers are not coming to the UK for the joy of £5.80 a day and a crappy hotel room. 3/
The idea of "pull factors" has been fairly debunked for years. France, Germany et al have higher benefits for example. The EU as a whole has a better right to work programme. The two main reasons people come to the UK are language and family ties. 1/6 thetimes.co.uk/article/creati…
For those who are trafficked, they may have no knowledge of which country they will end up in, not to mention that being trafficked and exploited is hardly a choice that people make. 2/6
Asylum seekers in general have little to no knowledge of the legal systems of the countries they are travelling to. Not shocking when you think how little knowledge of said systems many UK officials, including seemingly the Home Secretary, have. 3/6
Thread: Okay, please allow me to explain why this thread by @NJ_Timothy is misleading at best, bollocks at worst. First and foremost, the UK has never, ever, been the main destination for most refugees, and denying those who meet the international definition is kind of illegal. 1
The 'hundreds of millions" crack is unsupportable for starters by the nature of persecution. Bringing up the 87 million, I assume based on UNHCR figures fair enough, but actually pretty hard to calculate, again by the nature, ignores what internal displacement is. 2
In fact, it just comes across as though Nick is throwing out the biggest numbers he can find in order to make a spurious fear mongering point, but that could just be my reading of his comments. 3