1-17 of 17 results for subject:"Democratic Republic of the Congo"
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many nationals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are currently held within United Kingdom immigration estates and prisons.[HL5679]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many nationals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are currently held within United Kingdom immigration estates and prisons.[HL5679]
Published National Statistics show that there were 15 nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo detained as at 31 December in the immigration estate.
As at 24 February, 18 nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo were detained under immigration powers in prison.
This information has been extracted from National Offender Management Service (NOMS) reports which are taken from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the statement in Democratic Republic of Congo Policy Bulletin 2014 published on 18 February that “enquiries made by Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in Kinshasa have found no evidence that returnees being removed from the United Kingdom to the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the statement in Democratic Republic of Congo Policy Bulletin 2014 published on 18 February that “enquiries made by Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in Kinshasa have found no evidence that returnees being removed from the United Kingdom to the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
The Home Office does not routinely monitor the treatment of individual failed asylum seekers who return to their home country and guidance is compiled from a number of sources, including information from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and other States.
We believe that the best way to avoid ill-treatment is to make sure that we do not return those who are at risk. We do this by ensuring that trained caseworkers make the right decisions based on the circumstances of each individual case, and by providing a right of appeal to the independent courts.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the document reportedly circulated by the Ministry of the Interior of the Democratic Republic of the Congo advocating torture of political activists returning to that country by refoulement. [HL5677]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the document reportedly circulated by the Ministry of the Interior of the Democratic Republic of the Congo advocating torture of political activists returning to that country by refoulement. [HL5677]
The Home Office has not seen the alleged document and therefore can make no assessment of this.
Our current guidance on the handling applications for asylum from nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is set out in an Operational Guidance Note (OGN) of May 2012 and two country policy bulletins of November 2012 and February 2014. The OGN recognises that political opponents of the DRC government, based on available information, may be at risk of persecution and warrant protection in the UK. Any returns to the DRC are only undertaken if safe to do so.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government at what time on 8 June 2011 the charter flight carrying five returnees from the United Kingdom to the Democratic Republic of the Congo via Nigeria arrived at N’djili airport, Democratic Republic of the Congo. [HL5083]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government at what time on 8 June 2011 the charter flight carrying five returnees from the United Kingdom to the Democratic Republic of the Congo via Nigeria arrived at N’djili airport, Democratic Republic of the Congo. [HL5083]
There was no charter flight to the Democratic Republic of the Congo via Nigeria in 2011.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Intergovernmental Consultation on Migration, Asylum, and Refugees that is used in deciding asylum cases regarding the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been published and is currently accessible; and, if it has been published, whether they will place a copy of the report...
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Intergovernmental Consultation on Migration, Asylum, and Refugees that is used in deciding asylum cases regarding the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been published and is currently accessible; and, if it has been published, whether they will place a copy of the report...
A country policy bulletin for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was published on the Home Office web site in November 2012. The bulletin contained information obtained by the Home Office Country of Origin (COI) Service from the Intergovernmental Consultation on Migration, Asylum and Refugees (IGC) and from interviews with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. It was noted in the bulletin that the full IGC survey and transcripts of the interviews would be provided on request. The data was then made available in February 2013 to decision makers in a COI bulletin “DRC: Statistics and Information on the Treatment of Returns (To Kinshasa)”.
Both the country policy bulletin of November 2012 and the COI bulletin of February 2013 will be made available in the Library of the House.
Updated IGC information will be included in the DRC country policy bulletin which we expect to publish in February 2014.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will make available the transcripts of the interviews conducted by the Country of Origin Information Service in June 2012 with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch in respect of conditions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[HL5082]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will make available the transcripts of the interviews conducted by the Country of Origin Information Service in June 2012 with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch in respect of conditions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[HL5082]
A country policy bulletin for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was published on the Home Office web site in November 2012. The bulletin contained information obtained by the Home Office Country of Origin (COI) Service from the Intergovernmental Consultation on Migration, Asylum and Refugees (IGC) and from interviews with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. It was noted in the bulletin that the full IGC survey and transcripts of the interviews would be provided on request. The data was then made available in February 2013 to decision makers in a COI bulletin “DRC: Statistics and Information on the Treatment of Returns (To Kinshasa)”.
Both the country policy bulletin of November 2012 and the COI bulletin of February 2013 will be made available in the Library of the House.
Updated IGC information will be included in the DRC country policy bulletin which we expect to publish in February 2014.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statement by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 24 October 2013 (HL Deb, col 1179) regarding the report Unsafe Return 2 that “this report is being considered in detail”, when they will publish their detailed response to the report.[HL4843]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statement by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 24 October 2013 (HL Deb, col 1179) regarding the report Unsafe Return 2 that “this report is being considered in detail”, when they will publish their detailed response to the report.[HL4843]
A country policy bulletin for the Democratic Republic of Congo addressing the Justice First “Unsafe Return 2” report and other return issues is expected to be published in February 2014.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Home Office received e-mails, or any other form of correspondence, from the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office regarding the deportation of a non-Congolese national between June and September 2012.[HL3762]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Home Office received e-mails, or any other form of correspondence, from the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office regarding the deportation of a non-Congolese national between June and September 2012.[HL3762]
The Home Office received one email dated 7 July 2012 from the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), Kinshasa. This noted that the UNJHRO had been informed that one of the five returnees on the flight from the UK on 8 June 2012 was refused entry because he claimed not to be a national of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He was then sent to his alleged home country the following day. The e-mail also stated that the
UNJHRO had conducted enquiries but had no evidence of any further detentions of individuals returned on 8 June.
The Home Office asked the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to investigate this allegation of the deportation of a non DRC national. EGO did so through the Direction General de Migration (DGM) of the Government of the DRC, which is responsible for processing returns and other migration matters. The DGM informed the FOCI that it had not been involved in the deportation of an incorrectly documented returnee from the UK to a third country in June 2012. The DGM were also aware that the UK would accept back any returnee that they were not satisfied was a DRC national.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any of the five asylum seekers returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo through N’djili airport on 8 June 2011 was subsequently arrested; and, if so, when they first became aware of any arrest.[HL3436]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any of the five asylum seekers returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo through N’djili airport on 8 June 2011 was subsequently arrested; and, if so, when they first became aware of any arrest.[HL3436]
There were no returns to the Democratic Republic of Congo on 8 June 2011.
UK Embassy officials in Kinshasa were at N'djili airport to witness the arrival and processing of five returnees on 8 June 2012. The Embassy has stated that it was not aware of any returnees from the UK, including on this flight, being detained.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all Home Office documentation used in decisions on returns of asylum seekers to the Democratic Republic of the Congo is accurate.[HL3435]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all Home Office documentation used in decisions on returns of asylum seekers to the Democratic Republic of the Congo is accurate.[HL3435]
The Home Office's Country of Origin Information (COI) Service gathers reliable country information from a wide range of external sources for use by officials in the decision making process. These sources include the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UN agencies, human rights organisations, government and non government organisations and news media.
The COI Service produced a COI report on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in March 2012, a report of a Fact Finding Mission to Kinshasa in November 2012 and a bulletin on returns in February 2013. In additions to reports and bulletins, officials have access to an information request service which ensures that they can get the up to date country information required to make informed decisions.
This information is used to inform the country guidance on handling applications for protection from nationals of the DRC provided to decision makers.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any new risk categories for returning failed asylum seekers have been drawn up following the recent fact-finding mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and reports from the United Kingdom ambassador to that country; and whether there will be an update on risk...
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any new risk categories for returning failed asylum seekers have been drawn up following the recent fact-finding mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and reports from the United Kingdom ambassador to that country; and whether there will be an update on risk...
Our current guidance on the handling of applications for asylum from nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is set out in an Operational Guidance (OGN) of March 2012 and a country policy bulletin of November 2012. The conclusions reached in the country policy bulletin are based upon information obtained during the DRC fact finding mission undertaken in June 2012 and other publically sourced data, including from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The guidance provides for individuals at real risk of persecution and/or ill-treatment in the DRC to be granted international protection in the UK. This policy is kept under review in light of the country situation and returns are only undertaken if safe to do so.
My Lords, we observe our obligations under the refugee convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. Every asylum application is considered on its individual merits in the light of country information from a range of sources, including fellow European and asylum-intake countries. Returns are made only if it is safe to do so, and the courts have supported our position.
My Lords, we observe our obligations under the refugee convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. Every asylum application is considered on its individual merits in the light of country information from a range of sources, including fellow European and asylum-intake countries. Returns are made only if it is safe to do so, and the courts have supported our position.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what evidence they consider the Democratic Republic of the Congo to be a safe country to which to return asylum seekers.
My Lords, the Home Office works very closely with FCO staff here in London and with embassy officials in Kinshasa. The embassy staff participated in the DRC fact-finding mission and stated that they were not aware of substantial evidence of any returnee being ill treated. However, I assure the right reverend Prelate that the Home Offices investigates specific allegations of mistreatment on return.
My Lords, the Home Office works very closely with FCO staff here in London and with embassy officials in Kinshasa. The embassy staff participated in the DRC fact-finding mission and stated that they were not aware of substantial evidence of any returnee being ill treated. However, I assure the right reverend Prelate that the Home Offices investigates specific allegations of mistreatment on return.
I am very grateful to the Minister for that response. Following the Unsafe Return report of November 2011 and continued
documented reports of ill treatment of those who return to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Unsafe Return 2 report of this month, will the Government use the evidence provided to challenge the DRC authorities and to set up a monitoring mechanism for those returned so that there is a minimal safety measure for them in this very dangerous country?
I know of the noble Baroness’s interests in this issue and the diligence with which she pursues them, but perhaps I can refute her suggestion that these matters are taken without proper due care and diligence by the Government. Perhaps I can illustrate that best by saying that in 2009 there were 98 enforced removals to that country; in 2012, the number was down to 14; in the first quarter of this year, it was one; and in the second quarter it was also one.
I know of the noble Baroness’s interests in this issue and the diligence with which she pursues them, but perhaps I can refute her suggestion that these matters are taken without proper due care and diligence by the Government. Perhaps I can illustrate that best by saying that in 2009 there were 98 enforced removals to that country; in 2012, the number was down to 14; in the first quarter of this year, it was one; and in the second quarter it was also one.
My Lords, can the Minister explain how it can be safe to return at-risk people to a country which has the biggest UN peacekeeping force in the world, when that force has to spend most of its time protecting the local population and its own security forces, and when eastern Congo is known as the world’s capital of rape, which is routinely used as a weapon against vulnerable women? Surely this is a case of the Government having no understanding of the real threats and dangers faced by people in the DRC.
I thank my noble friend for making sure that I had seen a copy of Catherine Ramos’ report; in fact I had been briefed on the report, and the Home Office is taking it seriously. This report is being considered in detail, just as we considered the first one in the series. It was published at the beginning of this month. The initial view, considered
against other evidence, including the information that we have from other European countries, is that it will not warrant a change in our returns policy.
I thank my noble friend for making sure that I had seen a copy of Catherine Ramos’ report; in fact I had been briefed on the report, and the Home Office is taking it seriously. This report is being considered in detail, just as we considered the first one in the series. It was published at the beginning of this month. The initial view, considered
against other evidence, including the information that we have from other European countries, is that it will not warrant a change in our returns policy.
My Lords, does the noble Lord accept what the DRC ambassador told me—that,
“deportees are interrogated on arrival … to allow the Congolese justice system to clarify their situation”?
Does he therefore accept that although we do not routinely investigate or monitor the treatment of returnees, the evidence collected in the report that was mentioned by the right reverend Prelate—of the pattern of interrogation, arrest and ill treatment of refused asylum seekers—is strong enough to warrant an independent investigation of the treatment of these returnees? Can my noble friend say what it will take to get a country removed from the list of safe countries?
I hope that the noble Baroness was impressed by the figures that I gave earlier and that she understands that this process is undertaken with proper deliberation. The current country case law from the immigration and asylum Upper Tribunal concludes that there is no evidence that failed asylum seekers involuntarily returned to the DRC face a real risk of persecution or ill treatment merely because of an unsuccessful asylum claim in the UK. This was a conclusion upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2008. In 2012 the Court of Appeal found that country guidance remains the law until it is set aside or superseded.
I hope that the noble Baroness was impressed by the figures that I gave earlier and that she understands that this process is undertaken with proper deliberation. The current country case law from the immigration and asylum Upper Tribunal concludes that there is no evidence that failed asylum seekers involuntarily returned to the DRC face a real risk of persecution or ill treatment merely because of an unsuccessful asylum claim in the UK. This was a conclusion upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2008. In 2012 the Court of Appeal found that country guidance remains the law until it is set aside or superseded.
My Lords, does the Minister understand the concerns about the quality of decision-making? Some 30% of appeals against initial asylum decisions were allowed, meaning that nearly one-third were wrong. In more than one in 10 cases reviewed by inspectors, selective information from the country of origin reports had been used to deny claims. We have to get this right because asylum should be granted only when it is genuinely needed, but there is now a serious fear that those at great risk of violence are being denied a safe haven.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what evidence they consider the Democratic Republic of the Congo to be a safe country to which to return asylum seekers.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what evidence they consider the Democratic Republic of the Congo to be a safe country to which to return asylum seekers.
My Lords, we observe our obligations under the refugee convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. Every asylum application is considered on its individual merits in the light of country information from a range of sources, including fellow European and asylum-intake countries. Returns are made only if it is safe to do so, and the courts have supported our position.