GREEN LIGHT FOR SYRIAN MIGRANTS TO COME TO BRITAIN.
Syrian migrants in Calais win green light to come to Britain.
Judges have ordered that four Syrian refugees living in "The Jungle"
migrant camp in Calais should be brought to Britain immediately in a
human rights case which could have far-reaching implications for border
controls.
The Immigration and
Asylum Tribunal in central London heard the young men all faced
"intolerable" conditions in the camp and were desperate to be reunited
with their siblings in Britain.
The
Refugee Council, the charity which backed the case involving a
17-year-old and his mentally-ill 26-year-old brother, plus two other
teenage boys, said it was a "ground-breaking judgment".
It could set an important legal precedent that
could allow many other refugees wanting to cross the Channel from
Calais to come to Britain.
MigrationWatch UK, which campaigns for tougher border controls,
criticised the court’s decision and said the application appeared to be a
move to “short-circuit” international asylum laws. The 26-year-old brother of one applicant, named only as Ahmed, said he was "very, very worried" about his teenage sibling, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has been living in the Jungle since October.
It is unclear whether the mental health problems emerged as a result of his journey as a migrant or from earlier in his life.
Ahmed said his brother had witnessed the death of a female refugee in the camp.
"He has known some of them personally. He saw one woman who died," said Ahmed, who lives in west London.
"Things were so bad my brother said he wanted to go back to Syria
 |
| Hemn, a Kurd migrant, keeps warm next to a fire on a makeshift camp known as "the jungle" in Calais |
"Life is so difficult there. He is a teenager and to see the things
he has seen there is so difficult for him. It is very, very difficult.
"He's seen the cold and the rain and the snow, he is hungry and very cold and dirty."
Ahmed said he had been "very, very worried" about his brother, but hoped he would be able to come and "start a life here".
The Home Office fought the application and is understood to be preparing to appeal against the decision.
However, even a successful appeal is unlikely to have any effect on the case of the four Syrians as the court indicated they could come to Britain urgently.
The ruling was made unanimously by Mr Justice McCloskey, the president of the immigration tribunal, and Judge Mark Ockelton, the vice-president.
Under EU law known as the Dublin III regulation the Syrians would only be allowed to join their relatives in Britain if they had already applied for asylum in France.
Lawyers for the four successfully argued that because of bureaucratic failings in France and the refugees' entitlement to a family life under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights, they should immediately be brought to Britain and their asylum applications processed here.
Judith Dennis, from the Refugee Council, said: "This judgment has shone a welcome light on the plight of refugees seeking protection in Europe who are desperately trying to reach their relatives.
"Everyone has the right to live in safety with their loved ones.
“European governments must work together to ensure families are reunited safely and speedily, especially when it comes to children and other dependant family members."
Michael Fordham QC, representing the applicants, told the hearing the case could open the door to other applications from refugees at the camp hoping to come to Britain.
He said: "It will apply to others - certainly, I would say, any unaccompanied minor in this camp with a sibling in the UK. And I don't shrink from that'
"He's seen the cold and the rain and the snow, he is hungry and very cold and dirty."
Ahmed said he had been "very, very worried" about his brother, but hoped he would be able to come and "start a life here".
The Home Office fought the application and is understood to be preparing to appeal against the decision.
However, even a successful appeal is unlikely to have any effect on the case of the four Syrians as the court indicated they could come to Britain urgently.
The ruling was made unanimously by Mr Justice McCloskey, the president of the immigration tribunal, and Judge Mark Ockelton, the vice-president.
Under EU law known as the Dublin III regulation the Syrians would only be allowed to join their relatives in Britain if they had already applied for asylum in France.
Lawyers for the four successfully argued that because of bureaucratic failings in France and the refugees' entitlement to a family life under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights, they should immediately be brought to Britain and their asylum applications processed here.
Judith Dennis, from the Refugee Council, said: "This judgment has shone a welcome light on the plight of refugees seeking protection in Europe who are desperately trying to reach their relatives.
"Everyone has the right to live in safety with their loved ones.
“European governments must work together to ensure families are reunited safely and speedily, especially when it comes to children and other dependant family members."
Michael Fordham QC, representing the applicants, told the hearing the case could open the door to other applications from refugees at the camp hoping to come to Britain.
He said: "It will apply to others - certainly, I would say, any unaccompanied minor in this camp with a sibling in the UK. And I don't shrink from that'
But he added: "It's not part of my argument that the Secretary of
State is obliged to take an unaccompanied minor from Calais who doesn't
have family here."
The court heard all the men have been traumatised and squalid conditions at the camp were aggravating their health problems.
Alp Mehmet, of MigrationWatch, said: “The decision is simply wrong. It will encourage more and more to bypass the system for asylum.
“I encourage the Home Office to appeal as forcefully as possible.
“It seems these four applicants are unhappy with the treatment of their asylum case in France and rather than trying to address that are simply trying to short-circuit the rules to have their case considered here.”
The court heard all the men have been traumatised and squalid conditions at the camp were aggravating their health problems.
Alp Mehmet, of MigrationWatch, said: “The decision is simply wrong. It will encourage more and more to bypass the system for asylum.
“I encourage the Home Office to appeal as forcefully as possible.
“It seems these four applicants are unhappy with the treatment of their asylum case in France and rather than trying to address that are simply trying to short-circuit the rules to have their case considered here.”
4,000
Estimated migrants currently camped out around Calais
100-150
Migrants who arrive in Calais every day
700
Migrants from Calais granted asylum in France last year
1,200
Migrants from Calais deported from France last year
21 miles
Distance between Dover and Calais
£12 million
The amount Britain has spent reinforcing borders in Calais
18,170
Stowaways attempting to get to Britain between January 1 and May 21 2015
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