In the final few months of 2023, I had the opportunity of completing a placement with the organisation, Humans for Rights Network (HfRN). HfRN is a small organisation which was created to advocate for ‘a rights-based approach to the movement of people throughout Northern Europe, and to represent humans whose rights are violated’. They are a crucial source of information about rights violations within the British asylum system.
Due to my doctoral research, I was already familiar with how the new offence of 'illegal arrival' was being used against people arriving to the UK on 'small boats'. Through previous correspondence, I was aware that HfRN were involved closely in casework, particularly around the issue of age disputed children criminalised as adults. Together, we planned a knowledge exchange and planned to produce a public research report which would benefit from my previous academic engagement with the subject, while bringing together data from the HfRN’s casework, and new data gathered during the placement.
In collaboration with HfRN, I produced a public research document entitled: 'No Such Thing as Justice Here': The Criminalisation of People Arriving to the UK on 'small boats'. This report is the first public documentation of the issue. It contains new data obtained through a series of Freedom of Information requests I made at the beginning of the placement. This helped us to understand the scale of the government's activities in terms of its application of 'illegal arrival' and 'facilitation' offences to people arriving on 'small boats'. As part of the placement, I also completed five research interviews with people who had been criminalised in this way.
I was fortunate enough to work closely with the director of HfRN, Maddie Harris, throughout this process. This close collaboration gave me direct insights into her role in managing, financing, and running a small but impactful NGO. Having previously also directed a small NGO (Screen Share UK), this experience to effectively ‘shadow’ another director was a rare opportunity to get a closer understanding of the workings and challenges of this role.
Together, we launched the report at leading human rights chambers, Garden Court, in February 2024. The research was covered in the Guardian and the Independent, and subsequently also raised in House of Lords debates (see for example, here and here). The questions the report raised, including the compatibility of the practice with international law, were noted as of national interest. Subsequently, the UN Special Rapporteur on Migrants Rights noted the report as evidence in their communication to the Government on the issue. In particular, they noted the evidence the report raised on the criminalisation of age disputed children, including their detention in adult prison. The report has also been informally noted as the inspiration behind ongoing litigation on the issue.
I learnt a huge amount through working with Maddie, whose casework on the issue of age disputed children being criminalised is inspiring and difficult work. In particular, it was interesting to understand how collaborative work between an NGO, researchers, and lawyers, can result in successful strategic challenges to government policy. The placement gave me the opportunity to contribute to a small organisation central to supporting those affected by such criminalisation. I would strongly suggest anyone working on asylum and refugee rights issues to reach out to HfRN to see if a collaboration would be mutually beneficial.
Placements Showcase
