Church of Scotland Concerned by ‘Enforced Poverty’ of Asylum Seekers

|TOP|One of the most influential bodies in the Church of Scotland is to report to the General Assembly later this month over concerns about the ‘enforced poverty’ of asylum seekers in the UK.

The Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland will criticise in a report to the Assembly the ‘policy of destitution’ it feels is being used to prompt asylum seekers into giving up their claims and returning to their country of origin.

The report claims that the denial of shelter and means of support to unsuccessful asylum seekers by the deliberate action of the state is "an affront to the values of the civilisation that we like to believe we live in”.

The council will also call upon the government to uphold its moral and legal responsibilities as well as its duties under the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

|AD|The impact of ‘dawn raids’ on families with children has also been highlighted in the report. The Assembly will be urged by the council to ensure that all individuals are treated with dignity and respect by supporting calls for the Home Office to establish a protocol of principles and practices fully compliant with child protection legislation.

The Kirk’s Church and Society Council has also come out to support the views of Scotland’s Children’s Commissioner, Kathleen Marshall, who described such practices as dawn raids and the handcuffing of children as a “clear breach of human rights” and “the terrorising of children”.

The criticisms followed the indignation that broke out in Scotland last year over the eviction of a family of Kosovan asylum seekers from their Glasgow home, an incident which thrust dawn raids into the public eye.

“To date, the First Minister’s efforts to prevent these practices through the establishment of a protocol with the Home Office have not been successful. (Sections 4.1 & 4.2),” read a Church of Scotland press statement.