Dealt with on their merits? : the treatment of asylum seekers in the UK and France

This study examines the treatment of asylum seekers in the UK and France. The need for such a study arises from the apparent contradiction between, on the one hand, the commitment of EU states to give protection to people fleeing persecution (they are all signatories to the 1951 Refugee Convention) and, on the other, the increasingly restrictive policies on asylum adopted by those same states. In order to understand asylum-seeker perspectives I interviewed asylum seekers in the UK, though not in France due to my increasing deafness, and I interviewed stakeholders in both countries who could give me both official and asylum-seeker perspectives. Documentation was provided by asylum seekers and their supporters, NGOs in the field and government sources. I find that the restrictive agenda of the two states has undermined their commitment to the Refugee Convention as they place asylum policy in the context of immigration controls rather than of protection. Consequently, in both countries a discourse develops, laws are made and practices arise which undermine the right to asylum and deny protection to many who need it.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

PhD

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Hull

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Mouncer, Bob

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Craig, Gary, 1944-
• Kilkey, Majella

• Social sciences

Language dc:language

en

Identifier

oai:hull-repository.worktribe.com:4209398

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:hull-repository.worktribe.com:4209398