Letter: A shabby Bill

Sir: Amnesty International agrees with David Aaronovitch (Comment, 4 May) that the Immigration and Asylum Bill, currently before Parliament, is "irredeemably shabby".

We believe that the treatment of refugees is a good test of a country's commitment to human rights and have repeatedly warned the Government that its "ethical foreign policy" is meaningless unless it honours obligations to protect refugees.

The refugee crisis in Kosovo raises important questions about the Bill. More Kosovars are fleeing to the UK unaided than are being evacuated, yet all refugees face rigorous controls preventing access to safety, including rejection if they come through a third country in transit. The Home Office admits these controls prevent refugees from reaching a safe haven - but the Bill extends them, and Kosovars are still being refused asylum on third-country grounds. So much for sharing responsibility.

Those lucky few who make it to the UK will be subject to new powers of arrest, search and detention by immigration officers - without judicial controls. Refugees will be dispersed across the UK, making it hard to find good asylum advice.

Underpinning the Bill has been a press campaign of hatred, which the Government has failed to oppose. The Government should now bow to public demands to assist refugees and withdraw the meanest aspects of this Bill, including Clause 99 - the first amendment to the Children Act, denying help to refugee children in need.

We believe that the Bill violates international law.

It would be shameful if the Government went back on its pre-election promise to bring in a fairer asylum system, while expressing horror at the catastrophic refugee crisis in Kosovo.

SIMON RUSSELL

Refugee Officer

Amnesty International

London EC1