‘Laws are breaking Geneva Convention’

The government is violating the Geneva Convention by deporting
asylum seekers whose claims have failed to dangerous countries,
states to a report published this week.

The study, by the Institute of Race Relations, says the
government has carried out deportations to Somalia, the Democratic
Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe although they are considered
unsafe.

It adds that the government is putting “extreme pressure” on
Iraqis to return home even though there the country is still
unsafe.

The Geneva Convention states that: “No contracting state shall
expel or return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers
of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on
account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a
particular group or political opinion.”

A Home Office spokesperson denied any breach, and said: “Each
asylum claim is considered by the Home Office on its individual
merits, in accordance with our obligations under the 1951 UN
Refugee Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the
European Convention on Human Rights.”

• The Deportation Machine from www.irr.org.uk