Click to View Home Office Statement
In a significant recognition of the deterioration of the security and human rights situation in Sri Lanka, the Home Office announced on 08/12/2006 that Sri Lanka is to be removed from the 'white list' of countries deemed safe.
Sri Lanka was added to the 'white list' under section 94 of Nationality, Immigration & Asylum Act 2002 in July 2003. This meant that asylum seekers from Sri Lanka routinely found that their claims were certified, so that they had no right of appeal to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal against the Home Office's refusal of their asylum claims, before being removed from the UK to Sri Lanka. The inclusion of Sri Lanka on the 'white list' also affected the attitude of decision-makers to Sri Lankan asylum claims and meant that many Sri Lankan asylum seekers were detained while their asylum claims were processed under a fast track system.
Human rights lawyers and campaigners have been arguing for over a year that the continued inclusion of Sri Lanka on the 'white list' of safe countries is untenable. Violence in Sri Lanka has spiralled since the declaration of a State of Emergency in Sri Lanka in August 2005.
The US State Department Report published in March 2006 on the year ending December 2005 reported 'At year's end the Human Rights Commission (HRC) reported that police killed 25 individuals in police custody. The HRC determined that 20 of those individuals died as a result of torture in police custody during the year.' 'According to the HRC and other credible sources, the use of police torture to extract admissions and confessions was endemic and conducted with impunity.'
On 24/05/2006, the Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Dr. Kim Howells, in the House of Commons, stated "… the LTTE [Tamiil Tigers] is not the only source of violence. I have to make clear, too, our deep concern at the plight of civilians in Government-controlled areas, who are regularly subjected to brutal attacks by paramilitary groups, often acting with apparent impunity. There are also reports that Government security forces may be involved in some of those killings" and expressed his concern "That is a terrible situation."However, Sri Lanka continued at that time to be a country designated as 'safe' for the processing of asylum claims.
The Home Office's announcement of its removal of Sri Lanka from the 'white list' of safe countries comes just before the High Court was due to review whether the inclusion of Sri Lanka on the 'white list' was lawful. The High Court was due to consider the issue in a judicial review hearing on 13-14 December 2006.
A Human rights lawyer said:
'While this is a tremendous victory, it is very disturbing indeed that it took so long for the Home Office to remove Sri Lanka from the White List. The concern is that Sri Lankan asylum seekers may have had their claims improperly refused and certified and that some may have been sent back to face persecution because of incorrect assumptions that Sri Lanka was safe. '
For further information please contact Arun Gananathan of Birnberg, Peirce and Partners Solicitors on 020 7428 4354 or 07957 960 470.
Source: Birnberg, Peirce and Partners Solicitors
Date: 11 December 2006
