On 23rd May over 60 people joined an online seminar co-organised by Routes and International Institute for Cultural Enquiry (IICE) to hear an outstanding panel of legal practitioners and academics to discuss the UK government’s response to the Ukraine refugee crisis in the wider context of its refugee policy.
The seminar opened with John Vassiliou, solicitor and founder member of the Ukraine Advice Network, explaining the two schemes that apply specifically to Ukrainian nationals – the Homes for Ukraine Scheme and the Ukrainian family scheme – and the practical problems of implementation, particularly the continuing need for a visa to enter the UK. Miranda Butler, barrister and another founder member of the Ukraine Advice Network, put these into the context of the government’s wider policy agenda, including under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, of making asylum claims much more difficult for those who arrive in the UK from other countries.
Alison Harvey, barrister and a former legal officer of Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association, widened the discussion by drawing on her many years’ experience of working with parliamentarians to explain how, since 1993, governments have progressively eroded the support and services offered to refugees seeking asylum in the UK. Colin Yeo, barrister and founder and editor of the Free Movement website, managed to provide within one short presentation a comprehensive historical view of the selective welcome given to groups seeking refuge over the past centuries. Finally, Professor Audrey Macklin from the University of Toronto compared the approach taken in Canada towards Afghan and Ukrainian refugees, observing that the apparently less protective scheme for Ukrainian refugees is, in practice, more effective.
These powerful presentations ended with a discussion. If there is a single message to take from the seminar, it is that the universal right to seek asylum, while well represented in international law, has been given effect only partially and selectively.
About the panel:
Chair: Helena Wray – UoE Routes: Migration, Mobility and Displacement Network
Speakers:
John Vassiliou – Shepherd and Wedderburn
Miranda Butler – Landmark Chambers
Alison Harvey – No5 Barristers Chambers
Colin Yeo – Garden Court Chambers
Professor Audrey Macklin – University of Toronto