A week totally overshadowed by the shootings in Paris and their aftermath…

Nous sommes tous Charlie…

The shootings on Tuesday at the Paris office of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo put everything else into a very distant perspective indeed; and there is little we can usefully say except to express our condolences with the bereaved and our horror at the futility of such attacks. But though the incident underlines the overwhelming need for people of all faiths and none to learn to live together in mutual respect, at the same time it illustrates the danger of ill-considered reactions.

David Davies, Conservative MP for Monmouth, distinguished himself by asserting that “Under current laws, including the Human Rights Act, anyone can come to the UK and make a claim for asylum”. As Adam Wagner points out, the right to claim asylum stems from the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, not from the Human Rights Act 1998. The United Kingdom signed up to the 1951 Convention on 28 July 1951 and no-one has seriously proposed withdrawing from the Convention and Protocol – yet. Continue reading →