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20th December 2006
Letter
to The Sun
Re: "Why didn’t Reid deport these criminals at once?" (05/12/06)
Dear Mr Gaunt,
Having read your column “Why didn’t Reid deport these criminals at once?”, I am troubled by the use of terminology in relation to asylum seekers.
Unsuccessful asylum claimants cannot be called “bogus asylum seekers” or “illegals”. Seeking asylum is a fundamental human right under international law and whether a person’s claim is accepted or denied at no point are they “bogus” or in any way “illegal” and should not, therefore, be represented as such. By referring to failed asylum seekers as “bogus” and “illegal” you are misinforming The Sun’s readers and misrepresenting asylum seekers -- persons fleeing persecution and war.
We also wish to note that the detention facility at Harmondsworth shelters a broad category of detainees, most of whom are foreign nationals released from correctional institutions awaiting deportation. That facility is not mainly populated by asylum claimants.
Hostile and alarmist media coverage of asylum and refugees undermines the lives of those who have had to flee persecution, rather than informs any legitimate public debate on these issues.
Over the years we have greatly appreciated the UK media’s more accurate coverage of the asylum situation and its usual diligence in the careful use of terminology relating to asylum seekers and refugees. The UN Refugee Agency is saddened that such a misrepresentation occurred and hopes that The Sun will consider rectifying this by publishing a clarification at your earliest convenience.
Yours Sincerely,
Peter Kessler
Senior External Affairs Officer
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