Britain to Expel Afghan Asylum Seekers

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, January 29, 2002

Britain to Expel Afghan Asylum Seekers

Britain may shortly begin ordering thousands of asylum seekers back to Afghanistan, according to a home office minister.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Britain may shortly begin ordering thousands of asylum seekers back to Afghanistan, according to a home office minister.

In an interview with the Independent newspaper, Immigration Minister Lord Rooker said Afghanistan was becoming a safe country after the fall of the Taleban, removing one of the main reasons for Afghans seeking asylum in Britain.

However the Refugee Council, an independent body which campaigns for the rights of refugees, said Afghanistan was still too unstable for Britain to consider a radical change in its asylum policy.

Afghanistan provides the most asylum seekers coming to Britain each year, according to government figures. Between July and September last year, more than 2,500 Afghans sought refuge in Britain.

Asylum claims were being examined on a case-by-case basis, he added, using the same criteria employed to determine the status of refugees from the breakaway Yugoslav province of Kosovo.

No one has been sent back to Afghanistan from Britain since 1978 as the country has been considered too dangerous and hostile.

Somalia is the second-largest source of asylum seekers with 2, 265 applicants arriving in Britain last year and most were allowed to remain.

According to Lord Rooker, Britain is also "on the verge of being able to return people to certain parts of Somalia" because large areas of the country were now being run by "good local government".

Questions?Comments? Click here