|
Back to Index
ZIMBABWE:
Returning asylum seekers must not be harassed, rights group
IRIN News
December 17, 2004
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=44724
Johannesburg - Zimbabwean
asylum seekers being repatriated from Britain should not be harassed or
subjected to discrimination, a rights NGO has urged.
According to the official Herald
newspaper, 10,000 Zimbabweans who failed to gain political refuge in Britain
are to be forcibly repatriated in the coming months.
However, a British Home Office
spokeswoman, Helen Bower, could not confirm the figures quoted in the
Herald. She told IRIN that on 16 November the UK had announced its decision
to end a blanket ban on the deportation of Zimbabwean asylum seekers,
introduced in 2002, as it had been abused.
She could not provide details
on a timeframe for the deportations.
In response to a question in
parliament, the Herald quoted justice minister Patrick Chinamasa as saying,
"We accept all our citizens, they are still Zimbabweans," adding
that the returning asylum seekers would be welcomed.
Bidi Munyaradzi, director of
the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association, told IRIN that "it would be
unfortunate if some of those deported will be those with a well-founded
fear of persecution, should they return home".
When he announced the British
government's decision to end the ban on deportation of Zimbabwean asylum
seekers, the British minister for citizenship and immigration, Des Browne,
stressed that although "there has not been any improvement in conditions
in Zimbabwe", removing the suspension on deportation was necessary,
due to abuse of the system.
Munyaradzi pointed out that
many people seeking asylum in Britain had been "subjected to unfair
treatment and harassment" before leaving Zimbabwe. "Their security
must be guaranteed - political ideology should not dictate the handling
of these people when they come back home."
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
