Report says assertions in New Plan for Immigration are unfounded, dangerous and must be challenged
A new report by Freedom from Torture looks at why torture survivors take dangerous journeys to seek protection in the UK.
You can download the 48-page report here.
The report comes against a backdrop of what Freedom from Torture says is a 'deterrence approach' to asylum seekers adopted by the UK Government.
"The current government has engaged in a campaign of fearmongering around people seeking asylum. It has chosen to create a hostile environment with the aim of deterring new arrivals, going as far as to criminalise those fleeing torture, who – in the absence of sufficient safe and preauthorised routes – undertake life-threatening journeys to reach sanctuary," the report states.
Freedom from Torture is concerned that the Government's approach to asylum — underpinned by the New Plan for Immigration — is based on a false characterisation of why people flee to the UK to seek safety.
Kolbassia Haoussou, Freedom from Torture's director of Survivor Empowerment, said: "People take a chance or die trying rather than staying home to be tortured to a slow death. They seek sanctuary where they feel they are safe. It was in accordance with this basic understanding that the UK played a lead role in codifying in international law the fundamental humanitarian values embodied in the 1951 Refugee Convention."
The report seeks to examine the assertions in the New Plan for Immigration through a qualitative analysis of the experiences of Freedom from Torture clinicians, lawyers, advisors, and analysts who work with torture survivors.
As the report notes, the current Home Secretary Suella Braverman spoke of asylum seekers crossing the Channel as being an "invasion on our southern coast", while her predecessor Priti Patel said many people arriving in the UK were "economic migrants who have been masquerading as asylum seekers and elbowing to one side women and children".
Freedom from Torture says such assertions are unfounded and dangerous, and must be challenged: "Underneath them lies an abdication of the UK's responsibility to receive people seeking asylum regardless of how they arrive and to assess their claims fairly and without prejudice. The logical conclusion of these propositions is that the UK would no longer have a system for determining protection needs based on the 1951 Refugee Convention for anyone other than those who find themselves at risk of persecution after their arrival in the UK. The UK's asylum system will all but vanish."
The report emphasises that the UK receives a low proportion of the number of people seeking asylum, and a majority of asylum seekers in the UK are currently recognised as people in legitimate need of protection. In addition, there is a lack of the lack of preauthorised safe routes to seek asylum, which means people are forced to undertake dangerous journeys to the UK.
Freedom from Torture's finds that there are four principal reasons why survivors of torture make journeys to seek protection in the UK:
- Lack of safety in other countries en route;
- Connections in the UK;
- Familiarity with the language, culture and institutions;
- The UK's reputation as a place where human rights are respected.
The report explains further: "The reasons that Freedom from Torture clients specifically come to the UK are complex and relate to each torture survivor's individual circumstances, experiences, and hopes. Every respondent makes the point that, for many clients, there was little or no choice regarding the UK as a final destination. Even for those survivors who are able to exercise agency, the goal is to escape danger and find safety and protection. Survivors may not initially be aiming for the UK as a destination, but are instead pushed from country to country due to the treatment and risks they experience en route. For those clients who hope to seek asylum specifically in the UK, often the motivation is to reunite with family members or to enjoy the support of their diaspora community, because of perceived links to Britain due to language or colonial ties, or due to a perception of Britain as a country that protects human rights."
Freedom from Torture notes, for example, that the existence of family and community in the UK act as protective factors for survivors as they rebuild their lives.
Isabel Barreto Stahlberg, a psychological therapist, commented: "When people leave their country, they leave everything behind. Sometimes they don't even have a picture of their family; it's a huge, profound loss. They are so broken that any connection that they can make, either with a friend or family member, means restoring that sense of identity. Sometimes it's this cultural need to feel connected with their values and their views, or even someone welcoming them. But sometimes it is the feeling of being protected. Feeling somehow, I'll be safe there because this person's already there and they're safe."
The English language also informs the decision by some Freedom from Torture clients to seek protection in the UK, with the report noting that language proficiency can make a vital difference to the ability of people seeking protection to navigate the asylum system.
The manager of Freedom from Torture's Children, Young People and Families team explains: "I know a lot of people who seek asylum go to English-speaking countries, the reason being that English is a worldwide language. People in their school or universities or whatever have learnt a little bit of English, even if it's not sufficient enough to manage here. But at least they can understand a little bit of what people are saying. I have noticed that this is one of the biggest factors because you don't want to go to a country where you don't even understand a word. Language ability gives people a feeling of understanding and security, and also being able to communicate."
Freedom from Torture makes seven recommendations in the report. The recommendations are intended for both the current government and future governments to ensure that the UK upholds its commitments and provides access to protection for those fleeing war, torture and persecution, no matter how they arrive.