UNHCR Central Europe has released three reports documenting the housing situation of asylum seekers and refugees in Poland, Bulgaria and Slovakia. The reports were sponsored by UNHCR and the research was carried out by independent experts. The reports reveal that asylum seekers and refugees often find themselves in situations of destitution and homelessness in these three countries owing to obstacles such as shortage of housing facilities, lack of access to the labour market or excessively high rents.
The applicant is a Russian national who lives in Chechnya. In October 2009, her son was detained by the police and he has not been seen ever since. Before the Court, the applicant contended under Article 2 that her son had been killed by Russian servicemen and that the authorities had failed to investigate his disappearance. She also complained of a violation of Article 3 owing to the suffering caused to her by the disappearance of her son, of a violation of Article 5 in relation to his detention and of a violation of Article 13.
The applicant is an Albanian national who had been living without authorisation in Greece for ten years. In 2011, while he was still a minor, he was arrested and remanded in custody pending a decision on his expulsion. When this decision was taken, his detention was extended in order to prevent him from absconding. After spending a total of 14 days in detention, he was released upon an order of the administrative court of Athens. By the time of the judgment, the expulsion order had not been executed. Before the Court, Mr.
(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Common European Asylum System - Directive 2004/83/EC - Minimum standards for qualification for refugee status or subsidiary protection status - Article 4(1), second sentence - Cooperation of the Member State with the applicant to assess the relevant elements of his application - Scope - Lawfulness of the national procedure for processing an application for subsidiary protection following rejection of an application for refugee status - Observance of fundamental rights - Right to be heard)
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee announced on 17/04/2012 the launch of three updated and expanded editions of the Refugee Law Reader: the Sixth Edition in English, the Second Edition in French and the First Edition in Russian. These editions, together with the previously launched Second Edition in Spanish, provide a comprehensive online model curriculum for the study and implementation of the complex and rapidly evolving field of international asylum and refugee law.
The UK Supreme Court published on 25/07/2012 its judgment on the case of RT and Others v. the Secretary of State for the Home Department; KM, FC v. the Secretary of State for the Home Department. The first appeal concerns RT, SM and AM. They arrived in the UK from Zimbabwe at various times between 2001 and 2008 and have each claimed asylum here. Each of their claims was refused. RT, while credible, had never been politically active.
In May, the International Lesbian and Gay Association updated its world survey on laws criminalising and protecting same-sex relationships, entitled "State-Sponsored Homophobia". The report includes a short note arguing that the absence of criminalisation of homosexual activity does not demonstrate the absence of risk of persecution in a give country.
The applicant, Mr. Abdi, is a Somali national who applied for asylum in the United Kingdom and is currently detained in a British prison. In 1998 he was sentenced to imprisonment. In 2003 his release became automatic, but he remained in detention as a result of a deportation order issued in 2002 and a subsequent authority for detention. In April 2004, the Home Department authorised his detention until deportation. However, deportation was not possible for the British authorities until July 2006. His detention during this period was declared lawful by British Courts. Mr.
The Commissioner, Nils Muižnieks, strongly condemns forced returns of children, detention of children, the use of X-ray tests to determine age, and recent proposals by the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom to set up a 'return house' called the 'Welcoming Centre' in Afghanistan to facilitate the return of children. While aimed at family reunification, the idea has been opposed due to risks of sexual and military trafficking, the high difficulty of family tracing in Afghanistan, and the risks of child disappearance and persecution.
