Stop Action - Good News 6-30-10

URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA

To learn about recent Urgent Action successes and updates, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/iar/success
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30 June 2010

Further information on UA 137/10 (21 June 2010) – Forcible Return

UNITED KINGDOM “Mr S” (m)

On 23 June, the UK authorities deferred their plans to forcibly return “Mr S”, a rejected Somali asylum-seeker to Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia. He has been released from immigration detention. The UK authorities, however, maintain their policy that rejected asylum-seekers forcibly returned to southern and central Somalia are not at risk.

Mr S, a 50-year-old rejected Somali asylum-seeker, was due to be forcibly removed on 23 June from the UK to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, via Nairobi, Kenya. On 22 June, the European Court of Human Rights issued interim measures preventing his removal. Amnesty International has now been informed by the lawyer for Mr S that he was released from immigration detention on 23 June, and that he is now unlikely to face forced removal in the imminent future. The lawyer for Mr S thanked Amnesty International for working on his case.

However, the UK authorities continue to maintain in other cases that rejected asylum-seekers are not at risk if returned to southern and central Somalia, despite the guidelines of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), updated on 5 May 2010, calling on all governments not to forcibly return anyone to southern and central Somalia. Consequently other Somali asylum-seekers may still face forcible return to Somalia by UK immigration authorities.

Amnesty International believes that it is not safe to return Somali nationals to southern and central Somalia, including Mogadishu. All Somalis are at risk of being injured or killed in the generalized violence and indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, given the consistent failure of all parties to the ongoing conflict to respect international humanitarian law. Amnesty International is opposed to all forcible returns to southern and central Somalia at present, and believes that all Somalis from southern and central Somalia should be granted refugee status or another form of international protection.

Amnesty International understands that the UK authorities’ policy on enforcing removals to Somalia may be subject to further litigation in UK courts in 2010. We encourage the activists in the UA network who are interested in this issue to visit Amnesty International UK’s website for updates.

Amnesty International remains in contact with the lawyer for Mr S and will get back in touch with the UA network if he is at risk of forced removal in the future.

No further action is needed at the moment from the UA network. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.