News Summary - August (part 2)

Refugee Council calls on the government to let Afghans rejoin family in the UK, Rwanda policy internal documents redacted for 'risk of harming international relations', and lack of support for refugees in France sees rise in rough sleeping...

The CEO of the Refugee Council, Enver Solomon, has called on the government to reconsider its policy on family separation for people fleeing conflict. As it stands, many Afghans still in the region have no right to come to the UK to join family members who reside here. Solomon has called on the government to “immediately create a safe route” by which Afghans “are able to reunite and find safety in the arms of their loved ones already in the UK.” - Big Issue

The High Court has ruled that the UK government is to be allowed to keep parts of its internal documents on the Rwanda policy secret. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) have been trying to withhold 10 extracts from two documents from the upcoming hearing on the plan in September. The redacted documents detailed tortures and killings that have happened in Rwanda, leading to charities calling for the release of the unredacted versions. The government has stated that such documents would risk harming international relations. - Sky News

French NGOs, supporting refugees in Northern France, have blamed the French government for the high volume of people attempting to cross the Channel to the UK. Many refugees and asylum seekers in France end up sleeping in the streets or in refugee camps due to a lack of adequate reception centres. Nikolai Posner, the coordinator for French NGO Utopia 56, said: “You in the UK have Rwanda, we in France have the streets. The state is voluntarily creating this environment in the hope that people will not come here any more or will leave by themselves.” - The Guardian

A record 1295 refugees and asylum seekers crossed the Channel on Monday 21st August, according to government figures. The crossings came after a three-day gap in which no arrivals were recorded. Since the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, announced the Rwanda plan in order to curb Channel crossings, 17,402 people have crossed into the UK. - ITV News

The UNHCR has expressed alarm over the continued detainment and deportation of Afghan refugees back to Afghanistan from Tajikistan. Elizabeth Tan, UNHCR’s Director of International Protection, has reiterated that it is illegal under international law to deport those fleeing persecution back to their homeland, stating: “Tajikistan must stop detaining and deporting refugees, an action that clearly puts lives at risk.” - UN News