Dates: 16-24 June 2012

Venue: Across Scotland

Each year Refugee Week grows and increases in profile, making its mark on the UK’s cultural calendar. This year’s theme Spirit captures:

• Spirit of survival and the individual – the determination needed to flee persecution and rebuild your life
• Community spirit – the connections between refugees and local communities
• Scotland’s spirit – the cultural diversity of Scotland today

Refugee Week is all about having fun, broadening horizons and breaking down barriers. Every June the week long UK-wide festival of arts, cultural and educational events celebrates contributions refugees have made to the UK, and promotes understanding about why people seek sanctuary.

You can find more information and download a copy of the programme here.

Join us on facebook, twitter and YouTube to keep up- to-date with events and share your experiences, images and videos with us throughout Refugee Week.

GCU/SCVO Masters in Citizenship and Human Rights programme.

Date: Thursday, 28 June 2012

Time: 2:00pm – 4:30pm

More details to follow soon, but for now please hold the dates.

• Participate in informed and challenging debates on human rights in relation to topical issues
• Question how well we champion human rights
• Contribute to the Future of Scotland debate by discussing Scotland’s values
• Leave with new ideas to reflect on within our own organisations
• Contribute to and inform human rights research and programme development at Glasgow Caledonian University

Places are free but limited. Register here

For more information on  Scottish Community Voluntary Organisations, please visit their website here. 

Scottish Community Voluntary Organisations invites you to a debate on human rights in the life and work of the third sector which they are hosting as part of the outreach of the GCU/SCVO Masters in Citizenship and Human Rights programme.

Date: Tuesday, 26 June 2012

Time: 10:00am – 12:30pm

More details to follow soon, but for now please hold the dates.

• Participate in informed and challenging debates on human rights in relation to topical issues
• Question how well we champion human rights
• Contribute to the Future of Scotland debate by discussing Scotland’s values
• Leave with new ideas to reflect on within our own organisations
• Contribute to and inform human rights research and programme development at Glasgow Caledonian University

Places are free but limited. Register here

For more information on  Scottish Community Voluntary Organisations, please visit their website here. 

GCU/SCVO Masters in Citizenship and Human Rights programme.

Date: Monday, 11 June 2012

Time: 2:00pm – 4:30pm

More details to follow soon, but for now please hold the dates.

• Participate in informed and challenging debates on human rights in relation to topical issues
• Question how well we champion human rights
• Contribute to the Future of Scotland debate by discussing Scotland’s values
• Leave with new ideas to reflect on within our own organisations
• Contribute to and inform human rights research and programme development at Glasgow Caledonian University

Places are free but limited. Register here

For more information on  Scottish Community Voluntary Organisations, please visit their website here. 

This work is part of the Supported Options Initiative, a two year initiative that aims to improve the lives of young people with irregular immigration status. Many of these young people often feel that they are unable, or for various reasons are unwilling, to approach organisations for help. There may be only very limited options available through which they can try to address their situation.

The fund was established in 2011 by the PHF Social Justice programme with support fromUnbound Philanthropy, with the hope that, through innovative approaches, it will help bring about the creation of trusted means through which these young people can seek help.

In July ‘Digital Undoc’ will be holding “Undoc Camp”, which will be looking at innovative ways to use social media and digital technology to get support and information to young people and children with irregular immigration status. Developers, web designers, innovators, experts in this field and people who have first-hand experience of the issue at hand will form teams and come up with ideas to tackle the problem. The best ones may receive funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and/or other funders who will be there to hear the final pitches.

To find out more about ‘Digital Undoc’ or it’s upcoming ‘Undoc Camp’, please visit their website here. 

• curtailing in-country appeal rights against decisions to vary a person’s leave where the Secretary of State certifies that it is not conducive to the public good for the person to have leave to enter or remain in the UK (clause 25)
• removal of appeal rights against refusal of entry clearance in family visitor cases (clause 24)

Subject to Parliamentary approval and Royal Assent, this change is expected to come into force by 2014. Refused applicants will still be able to appeal on limited grounds of human rights or race discrimination.

In June 2012 the UK Border Agency will also introduce secondary legislation which will tighten the family and sponsor definitions in family visit visa appeals. Subject to Parliamentary approval, these changes are expected to come into force in July 2012. Those applying to visit a cousin, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew will no longer have access to a full right of appeal, and to use that appeal right, the family member being visited in the UK must have settled, refugee or humanitarian protection status.

In addition, the Bill aims to increase immigration officers’ powers (clause 26) in the area of seizure of property and the carryoing out of ‘intrusive surveillance’.

The full text of the Bill can be downloaded here. 

The study focused on the question- What are migrant workers’ experiences of forced labour and exploitation in the UK food industry? Research into experiences of forced labour/exploitation was conducted with migrant workers in the food industry across England and Scotland. A deeper understanding of the circumstances under which forced labour/exploitation occur and how it is organised is now available.

Drawing on in-depth interviews with 62 migrant workers (mainly Polish, Chinese, Latvian and Lithuanian) across five locations (London, Liverpool, South-West England, Lincolnshire and East – Central Scotland), the study:

• Sets out how and why forced labour/exploitation occurs.
• Uncovers forced labour/exploitation practices in the food industry.
• Explains the impact on migrant workers.
• Includes policy recommendations to improve regulation and aid migrant workers who experience forced labour/exploitation.

Here are key points of the study’s findings:

• The most notable and unexpected forced labour practice was the ‘underwork scam’ – recruiting too many workers and then giving them just enough employment to meet their debt to the gangmaster.
• A significant proportion of interviewees paid fees to come to the UK and secure work, creating indebtedness and dependence.
• Workers were threatened and bullied. Racist or sexist language was sometimes used in the workplace, underpinning a climate of fear. Some employers used fear of dismissal to ensure that workers remained compliant and deferential.
• Productivity targets and workplace surveillance were excessive; workers felt they were treated like machines rather than people and given targets that were often impossible to meet. Informal employment brokers frequently provided workers with tied accommodation, which was often sub-standard; workers thus experienced exploitation at home as well as in the workplace. Losing their job might also mean losing their home.
• It is difficult to say whether the exploitation reported was severe enough to constitute forced labour, but the evidence indicated that employers were infringing many rights.
• Low-wage migrant workers appear especially vulnerable to forced labour, despite most of those interviewed having the right to live and work in the UK. The intensity of work in the food industry, driven by economic pressures throughout the supply chain, contributes to such exploitation.

The full report can be found here.

Date: Thursday 14 June 2012
Times: 6pm – 7.30pm
Venue: Scottish Parliament, Committee Room 3, Edinburgh

A team led by the University of Bristol was commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) to investigate experiences of forced labour and exploitation in the UK food industry. Interviews with migrant workers mainly from Poland, China, Latvia and Lithuania were conducted in Scotland, London, Liverpool, South-West England and Lincolnshire. The research, which is the third piece of research to be published in a major series of reports from JRF about forced labour in the UK, was published on 15 May 2012 (see link below).

The event will start at 6:00pm and will conclude at 7:30pm. Guests are advised to arrive 30 minutes prior to allow time to clear security. A presentation will be given by the lead researcher from the University of Dundee, Dr Alistair Geddes, who will talk about the findings from the Scottish part of this study. There will also be a number of responses. Drinks and canapés will be served.

If you are interested in attending, please click here and complete the booking form no later than Wednesday 6 June. Confirmation details will be emailed one week before the event. If you have any further questions, please contact Beth Hurrell, Research Administrator for the Forced Labour programme on 01904 615946 or at beth.hurrell[at]jrf.org.uk.

More information:

More info on the study and the research programme is available on the JRF website.

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By Lian Kim Selby

Lian Kim Selby is currently studying International Relations at the University of Edinburgh, and interns at Migrants’ Rights Scotland. An American from Singapore now living in Scotland, she takes keen interest in issues of migration and human rights.

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This last weekend I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to represent Migrants’ Rights Scotland at a conference, ‘From Monologue to Dialogue; Strengthening and hearing migrants’ voices in the debate on migration’ organized by Migrant Voice, an organization that aims to mobilise migrants who are concerned about the way their communities are portrayed by the media to engage in positively influencing the immigration debate and changing public attitude. The conference involved a number of different organizations primarily from the cities of London, Birmingham and Glasgow, but also featured organizations from Manchester and even a representative from Malta. We attended workshops led by organizations that were using various mediums such as youtube and even theatre to raise awareness of the views, experiences, and plight of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. We also participated in panel discussions featuring accomplished journalists and representatives from public media organizations that explained the best ways to increase the visibility of organizations like ours, raise awareness of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in our communities, and how to use such mediums to our best advantage.

It was an enriching experience and invigorated me to want to become even more active in using various media platforms to raise awareness of the difficulties that migrants and refugees in the United Kingdom face, whilst also utilizing such platforms to provide information for such people.

On the final day, we formed groups of 15-20 people and discussed actions plans- for us as individuals, for our organizations and for the Migrant Voice community and network as a whole. It was incredibly inspiring to hear about the new plans that each representative had envisioned. One delegate from Birmingham discussed a youth initiative that his organization intended to implement in Birmingham, to create more cultural events to foster awareness of the cultures and customs of migrants living in the United Kingdom. Others also agreed to hold regular meetings with journalists. Many other new ideas and initiatives were put forward and discussed. As each individual said ‘I will…’ and laid out their various action plans with such intent, you could feel such a vibrant energy in the room, of people feeling inspired and energized to go back to their organizations and communities to put these plans into action.

The conference demonstrated to me the power of inspiration and encouragement that stems from the act of people coming together for a purpose. Members of migrant and refugee organizations should continue to initiate the coming together of various organizations to build on a collective identity, one that I felt was very much in the making during the conference. It gives each organization the opportunity to hear about the initiatives and work of other organizations around the United Kingdom, it gives people a chance to network, and more importantly, it allows and assures that all organizations are collectively heading in the same direction.

With the joining of forces to strengthen a collective will, great change can be made in society if we all ‘come together’. The Beatles could not have said it better…

Migrants’ Rights Scotland is very pleased to support the Human Rights Consortium Scotland (HRCS) by co-hosting the UN webcast live from Geneva on Thursday 24th May 2012, together with the Centre for Rural Childhood, Perth College UHI.

Date: Thursday, 24th May 2012

Times: 8.00am-12.00pm

Venue: Centre for Rural Childhood, Perth College UHI, Perth PH1 2NX

During the live webcast of the Hearing, the UK will report its human rights record to the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. The UPR process is a relatively new and unique Human Rights Council procedure in which all 192 UN Member States have the whole range of their human rights records reviewed by other States. Its aim is to hold States to account for human rights violations, and to increase international visibility of countries’ human rights situations using a cooperative and fair process. Each country is reviewed every four years, and the first review of the UK was in 2008.

Pat Elsmie, Chair of Migrants’ Rights Scotland says, ”We are delighted to co-host this event and raise awareness of human rights here in Scotland. The promotion and realization of human rights is central to the work of Migrants’ Rights Scotland as human rights apply to everybody irrespective of citizenship and immigration status, which means that all migrants in the UK, like everybody else, are entitled to protection of those universal and inalienable rights.”

To accommodate the early start of 8.00 am (9.00 am in Geneva), coffee and croissants will be available. A facilitated discussion will follow the webcast from 11.30 am to 12.00 noon.

If you wish to attend, please register by 10.00 am on Wednesday 23 May – by contacting Migrants’ Rights Scotland info[at]migrantsrightsscotland.org.uk , Tel: 07770 674788 or the Centre for Rural Childhood, enquiriescrc[at]perth.uhi.ac.uk, Tel: 01738 877506. You will then be given details of final arrangements for the venue.

Please note: Further live webcasts of the debate will be available in two other Scottish cities, hosted by:

• Engender, 1A Haddington Place, Edinburgh EH7 4AE

Email: Karen[at]engender.co.uk   Tel: 0131 558 9596

•  Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights, 78 Carlton Place, Glasgow G5 9TH

Email: jatin[at]crer.org.uk   Tel: 0141 418 6530

Anyone wishing to attend the webcasts in Glasgow or Edinburgh should register with the individual venue hosts by 10am on Wednesday (May 23).

 “The live webcasts are a further opportunity for more civil society organisations and those interested in the role of human rights in Scotland and the wider UK to increase their participation in this important assessment of the human rights conditions for all who live within UK jurisdiction,” says Carole Ewart, Chair of the HRCS.

More info: 

Briefing papers on the process and submissions made by Scottish groups and the HRCS will be available at webcast venues. You can also find them below:

Background Paper On UPR

HRCS Submission to the UPR

Link to EHRC,SHRC and all NGO submissions

(CC) Image: Eva.Finn/Flickr

BRIEFING 24 MAY 2012