We have attached the full report for your perusal, below a few of the
main points the committee make.



The Treatment of Asylum Seekers

House of Lords, House of Commons

Joint Committee On Human Rights Tenth Report

 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200607/jtselect/jtrights/81/8103.htm

In this Report, the Committee considered human rights issues raised
by the treatment of asylum seekers, from the time when they first
claimed asylum in the UK, through to either the granting of asylum,
or, for asylum seekers whose claims are refused, their departure from
the UK.

Many asylum seekers and refused asylum seekers are vulnerable
individuals who are reliant on protection and support from others.
The majority usually have no right to work and are dependent on the
state for access to housing, health care, food and other necessities.

. . . . the current system is overly complex, poorly administered,
offers inadequate information and advice to ensure that people
receive the support to which they are entitled and in some cases
denies any support at all to those who are destitute.

. . . . . by refusing permission for asylum seekers to work and
operating a system of support which results in widespread
destitution, the Government's treatment of asylum seekers in a number
of cases reaches the Article 3 ECHR threshold of inhuman and
degrading treatment.

. . . . The restrictions on access to free healthcare for refused
asylum seekers who are unable to leave the UK are examples of
nationality discrimination which require justification. The Committee
recommends that free primary and secondary healthcare be provided for
all those who have made a claim for asylum or under the ECHR whilst
they are in the UK, in order to comply with the laws of common
humanity and the UK's international human rights obligations, and to
protect the health of the nation (paragraph 170) .

It does not accept that that the Convention on the Rights of the
Child (CRC) [that the UK Government has refused to sign in full]
undermines effective immigration controls, and recommends that the
reservation be withdrawn and that the Government consider how section
11 of the Children Act, which imposes a duty on public bodies to have
regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children
in discharging their normal functions, could be extended to include
authorities providing support for asylum seekers, the Immigration
Service and Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) (paragraphs 180 to
182).

. . . . expresses concerns about the use of fast track detention,
and about detention of vulnerable people such as victims of torture,
pregnant women and those with serious mental and physical health
problems.

. . . . the Committee considers in detail the detention of children
and finds that the current process of detention does not consider the
welfare of the child. It concludes that the detention of children for
the purpose of immigration control is incompatible with children's
right to liberty and is in breach of the UK's international human
rights obligations. The Committee states that children should not be
detained and alternatives should be developed for ensuring compliance
with immigration control where this is considered necessary
(paragraph 259).

. . . the Committee considers the treatment of asylum seekers by the
media and reviews the evidence it received of negative media coverage
of asylum. It expresses concerns about the impact of this hostile
reporting, the potential it has for influencing the decision making
of officials and Government policy, and the possibility of a link
between such reporting by the media and physical attacks on asylum
seekers.