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Government urged to help restore public support for sanctuary

Tuesday 20 May 2008

A report urging the government and media to help restore public support for sanctuary in the UK was today welcomed by Refugee Action.

‘Saving Sanctuary’, published by the Independent Asylum Commission, looks at public attitudes to asylum seekers and refugees and made a raft of recommendations to address the ‘overwhelmingly negative’ associations the public has with the term asylum.

The report says that a ‘sanctuary summit’ featuring key figures from politics, media and civil society should meet to form a strategic approach to communicating sanctuary to the public, and that information and education is key to long-term public understanding.

Sandy Buchan, the Chief Executive of Refugee Action, said: “There is widespread misunderstanding about the difference between asylum seekers and economic migrants and the public hostility towards asylum seekers is coupled with a mistrust of the current system. We welcome this vital report which shows that the public needs clear and accurate information about the issue and makes sensible recommendations to take this need forward.”

The Independent Asylum Commission held a ‘Citizens Speak’ consultation from January this year which heard from 520 participants in ‘People’s Commissions’ across Britain and from hundreds more through its website and newspapers.

The majority were critical of the asylum system and many felt asylum seekers were ‘liars’, ‘bogus’ and Britain was a ‘soft touch’, and participants cited the media and ‘word of mouth’ as their main sources. However, the term ‘sanctuary’ was seen as a positive word and people believed that it is a good thing that the UK provides sanctuary to those fleeing persecution.

The Commissioners recommend that local authorities, the UK Borders Agency and the voluntary sector should work together with communities where asylum seekers live to help people understand who newcomers are and why they are here.

Sandy Buchan said: “We strongly endorse this recommendation. The establishment of the regional directors in the UK Borders Agency present the ideal opportunity to take this forward.”

The report also makes recommendations to the Home Office to tackle the ‘unacceptably poor standard of some initial asylum decisions’, and it cited the ‘adversarial asylum system…..heavily weighted against the asylum seeker’.

Recommendations include improvements in decision-makers’ training in issues such as communication and psychological difficulties experienced by asylum seekers. The commissioners also highlighted the need for all asylum seekers to have access to legal representation .

Ends

To read the full Saving Sanctuary report and receive a press pack contact Jonathan Cox on 07919 848 066 or go to: www.independentasylumcommission.org.uk

For media enquiries on Saving Sanctuary and the Independent Asylum Commission contact Jonathan Cox on 07919 848 066. For media enquiries to Refugee Action contact Julia Ravenscroft on 07771 748 159.

Notes:

The Independent Asylum Commission is conducting a nationwide citizens’ review of the asylum system.

The Refugee Awareness Project in Bristol/ Nottingham/ Liverpool trains teams of refugee and British volunteers to visit local groups, give information on the asylum system and explain what a refugee’s life is like. The project has worked with schools, community groups, statutory services and faith groups.

Refugee Action is an independent, national charity working to enable refugees to build new lives in the UK. We provide practical advice and assistance for newly arrived asylum seekers and long-term commitment to their settlement through community development work, and received 30,000 visits from asylum seekers last year. As one of the country’s leading agencies in the field, Refugee Action has more than 25 years’ experience in pioneering innovative work in partnership with refugees.

• Refugee Action is an independent, national charity working to enable refugees to build new lives in the UK. We provide practical advice and assistance for newly arrived asylum seekers and long-term commitment to their settlement through community development work, and received 30,000 visits from asylum seekers last year. As one of the country’s leading agencies in the field, Refugee Action has more than 25 years’ experience in pioneering innovative work in partnership with refugees.