In Glasgow Sheriff Court (17/05/13) the Sheriff ruled in favour of the YMCA in their eviction proceedings against one of the refused refugees. There were two grounds: 1 The YMCA's advocate argued that the consequence of eviction in this case was not destitution as the defendant still had recourse to Section 4 Hard Case Support. This appears technically to be true in this case but as all those who have experience of Section 4 applications knows it is a brutal and humiliating experience resulting in most cases in failure.
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That this House notes with concern that despite steady improvement in the rights of Afghan women since the severe repression of the 1990s, women in Afghanistan are once again in danger; raises concerns about information indicating that women are being marginalised in the peace process, ignored in the security transition and that they continue to be subject to violence in the home and attacks against the defenders of women's rights; commends the efforts by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development to ensure the Afghan government upholds its commitments on women's rights, including through implementation of the Elimination of Violence Against Women law, which is a central commitment under the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework; praises the campaign being led by Amnesty International UK to highlight the plight of women in Afghanistan; and calls on the Government to keep the pressure on the Afghan administration to put women first.
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A new report released today by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) reveals that 32.4 million people were forced to flee their homes in 2012 by disasters such as floods, storms and earthquakes. While Asia and west and central Africa bore the brunt, 1.3 million were displaced in rich countries, with the USA particularly affected. 98% of all displacement in 2012 was related to climate- and weather-related events, with flood disasters in India and Nigeria accounting for 41% of global displacement in 2012. In India, monsoon floods displaced 6.9 million, and in Nigeria 6.1 million people were newly displaced. While over the past five years 81% of global displacement has occurred in Asia, in 2012 Africa had a record high for the region of 8.2 million people newly displaced, over four times more than in any of the previous four years.
(Reliefweb, 13/05/113)
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Labour Behind the Label - Our advice to you
In the face of stories about sweatshop factories and buildings collapsing in Bangladesh, it is often difficult to know where you should shop. Buying 'sweatshop free' clothes is a complicated business. Labour Behind the Label exists to help improve conditions for garment workers on the ground and empower them to change their systems for the better – they are not a consumer label and can't hope to know everything there is to know about all brands.
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There is no justification for the new immigration bill - and it's a move guaranteed to harm unpopular minorities. In the Queen's Speech the Government announced plans to limit the use of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The changes are likely to be popular, thanks to longstanding campaigns by some newspapers to restrict the rights of foreigners who have committed crimes here. But there are reasons why we should be very wary about this proposal, as it could greatly alter the balance of power between judges and the Executive.
(Adam Wagner, New Statesman, 08/05/13)
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Tell George Osborne to drop his legal challenge in Europe
Just a few months ago we were delighted to share the good news with you: eleven countries in Europe pledged to introduce Robin Hood Taxes -- netting a combined whopping £30 billion. It's hard to believe, but those taxes are now under threat from our government. After losing the moral and practical arguments George Osborne is now resorting to a desperate legal challenge to try and block these countries from introducing their own taxes.
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