Victory for Medical Justice and human rights

Brilliant news just out from the High Court in London. The wonderful organisation Medical Justice has just convinced the judge that fast track deportations should be declared unlawful. What had been happening was that the UKBA was ignoring the standard 72 hours notice rule for certain categories of people.



Astonishingly enough they were the most vulnerable of people - those who may be at risk of suicide if they know they are being deported and those who are classed as "unaccompanied minors". The latter group would make you weep and on occasion they have done exactly that to me. We're talking about children (under 18s) who, for whatever reason, end up in the UK alone.



I'm wondering what the thinking is (sorry WAS!) behind fast tracking those who are suicidal. Could it be to make sure if they do commit suicide, they do it somewhere else, that it's not us that have to mop up the blood? And how on earth could someone who was deeply depressed EVER ask for help if they knew they might be fast tracked like this?

We really ought, as a set of countries, to be exceptionally careful when sending fellow human beings away, to be sure we are not sending them back to human rights abuses. If we are not absolutely certain then we, too, are guilty of abusing their human rights.

As usual the UKBA gave the UK a complete showing up in the human rights stakes but thankfully the courts recognised this and have put a stop to it. Time to shake up the entire system methinks!