Outcry! - The Children’s Society and Bail for Immigration Detainees strongly support the Sanctuary Pledge

The Children’s Society and Bail for Immigration Detainees strongly support the Sanctuary Pledge, launched today. The pledge aims to build a political consensus in support of reaffirming Britain’s historic tradition of providing sanctuary to people fleeing persecution.

The contrast is stark between the need to give sanctuary to people – including children – fleeing persecution, and the current practice of forced detention. Britain is locking up people who have not committed a crime and we believe that this is an outrage. We are delighted that the Sanctuary Pledge is joining the OutCry campaign in recognising that the cruel and inhumane practice of immigration detention for children must end.

A key element of the Sanctuary Pledge is that it aims to “support policies that will end the detention of children and families for immigration reasons”. The Children's Society and Bail for Immigration Detainees fully support it.

Jewish Council for Racial Equality persuades PPCs to back the Sanctuary Pledge in Hampstead & Kilburn

Edie Friedman, Chief Executive of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality, succeeded in getting two more Prospective Parliamentary Candidates to sign the Sanctuary Pledge last week.

Having attended a local hustings in the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency, Edie persuaded Lib Dem candidate Ed Fordham (right) and Conservative Chris Philip (left) to sign the Sanctuary Pledge - and even got some photos to prove it!

Message of Support for the Sanctuary Pledge from Yasmin Alibhai Brown

"Britain has two faces when it comes to the dispossessed seeking refuge.

One is humane, open, ready to receive and embrace, the other is harsh, cruel and selfish. It has been ever thus. The Hugenots, then Jews, then Africans, now Arabs, Iranians, Afghans, Iraqis knew and know both.

Today the kindly, compassionate side has been silenced by the increasing brutality of the other. Humanitarian treaties signed are ignored, those seeking safe havens get no hearing, no understanding. They self harm, go to their deaths unseen and un-mourned. There will soon be no place on these isles for the tortured and terrified. And our nation’s soul will be corrupted, despoiled. When she looks in the mirror Britannia will see that corruption like boils on a face.

So for our sake as much as those seeking our help, we must protect the sacred idea of sanctuary."

Bishop of Ripon & Leeds raises Sanctuary Pledge in the House of Lords

The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds this week asked the Home Office Minister in the House of Lords whether he backed the Sanctuary Pledge. His response shows all the more need for us to get out there and meet with our Prospective Parliamentary Candidates...

You can read both question and answer here.

Methodist, Baptist and URC leaders urge politicians to back the Sanctuary Pledge

The leaders of the Methodist Church in Britain, the Baptist Union of Great Britain and the United Reformed Church are asking politicians to take the Sanctuary Pledge, which is an initiative of the Citizens for Sanctuary Campaign.

The Revd David Gamble, President of the British Methodist Conference, said,

“Politicians must resist the temptation to use asylum as a political football in their election campaigns. We strongly support the Sanctuary Pledge campaign’s call for politicians to campaign responsibly, and not to demean those fleeing persecution and seeking sanctuary in Britain. I hope people will ask candidates standing for election to sign the Sanctuary Pledge.”

The pledge is a commitment to campaign positively and sensitively, helping the public to understand why it is important to offer a safe haven to people fleeing persecution. It also asks politicians to support policies that will end the forced detention of children and families, and to promote awareness of the UK’s long heritage of providing a safe haven for people seeking sanctuary.

The Revd John Marsh, Moderator of the United Reformed Church, said,

“By taking this pledge, political candidates will show that they are serious about offering sanctuary to those who cannot find safety in their homelands. As Christians, we are called to love our neighbours as ourselves, and the Citizens for Sanctuary campaign encourages us to do just that.”

“We are particularly concerned about the detention of children and young people in the asylum system,” continued the Revd Jonathan Edwards, General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. “There is overwhelming evidence that holding children in detention centres is damaging to their physical and emotional wellbeing. Children are particularly vulnerable, and no matter where they are from, we all have a duty to protect them from harm. We encourage politicians from all parties will sign the pledge and commit to ending the detention of children.”

Diane Abbott MP: The real distress at Yarl's Wood

Labour MP Diane Abbott criticises the detention of children at Yarl's Wood:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/mar/01/yarls-wood-condition-visit

Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg calls for an end to the ‘state sponsored cruelty’ of child detention

Nick Clegg MP, leader of the Liberal Democrats, today came out strongly against the detention of children at a Social Justice Lecture organised by Sanctuary Pledge partners the Salvation Army.

A delegation of leaders from the Sanctuary Pledge campaign went along to the lecture, and asked Mr Clegg to back the Sanctuary Pledge and end the detention of children.

Referring to ‘horrific revelations’ about the treatment of women and children inside Yarl’s Wood detention centre, Mr Clegg expressed his anxiety about those who are imprisoned within the asylum system without committing a crime.

“I think that the asylum system is a source of moral shame. I cannot believe that in a country that prides itself on giving sanctuary to those that need it we are imprisoning thousands of children. This is state sponsored cruelty.”

He drew on “overwhelming evidence” of the negative impact of detention on children, including weight loss and mental trauma. Mr Clegg called on Gordon Brown to “do something really simple and ban the detention of children, which is both morally wrong and wholly unnecessary”.