Over the years, the issue of migrants seeking asylum in the United Kingdom has been the subject of increasing media and political attention. The need to provide asylum seekers with culturally sensitive services is widely acknowledged within social work. However, the social work profession continues to draw heavily on outdated views and definitions of racism mainly based on skin colour and biological categorisation. This is in spite of the fact that the late 20th century has witnessed the emergence of “new racism” (Barker, 1981) and xenoracism (Sivanandan, 2001). This thesis uses the concept of xenoracism as a framework for understanding the ever-shifting parameters of exclusionary discourses, and seeks to provide a more in-depth understanding of current social policy for asylum seekers. It achieves this through an analysis of media, governmental and parliamentary discourses on the issues of immigration and asylum. This approach is based on an understanding of how asylum seekers as a social group are constructed and how this process – underpinned by xenoracism – plays a pivotal role in influencing the ways in which social policies relating to asylum seekers are formulated. The study argues that the construction of social policies relating to asylum seekers is inherently racist and as such is in direct conflict with social work’s value system. The study utilises discursive social psychology (Taylor, 2001, Potter and Wetherell, 1987)), as a methodology for understanding the various ways in which asylum seekers are constructed. This strand of discourse analysis is employed to examine the ways in which society talks and writes about asylum seekers, the social cognition that is the basis of the existing discourses, the socio-political and cultural functions of such discourses and their specific roles in the reproduction of social inequalities. The thesis explores the ways in which asylum seekers are constructed in social work professionals’ discourses. The study identifies a number of interpretative repertoires and linguistic resources that are deployed by social work professionals in their attempts to construct asylum seekers as objects of knowledge. The study illustrates that in addition to their professional discourses and repertoires social work professionals also draw on media and parliamentary discourses as discursive resources in their constructions of asylum seekers. These social work professionals’ discourses are shown to be argumentatively organised and oriented to these macro discourses. In this respect, this thesis establishes an understanding of how asylum seekers are constructed by social work professionals as it pays particular attention to the ideological basis of such constructs. The thesis also explores the everyday practices of social work professionals with asylum seeking service users and the specific ways in which these professionals explain and legitimate their practice with asylum seekers. Through paying attention to practitioners’ accounting practices, this study provides an insight into some of the ways in which social work professionals produce accounts of competent social work practice and how this is an integral part of a defensive social work discourse. This thesis highlights the fact that language is one of the central vehicles through which social work takes place. As such, the analysis of social work discourse in its own right as a topic of analysis is a legitimate area of social work research which can lead to an in-depth and enhanced understanding of social work practice. By using discourse analysis as a methodology, this thesis provides a new perspective for understanding not only social work practice with asylum seekers but also some of the concerns regarding the profession’s complicity in racist and oppressive practice.

This thesis interrogates immigration detention as a space of intricate ambivalence - one which seeks to exclude, but which is also entreated to protect. The focus is so-called ‘unauthorised’ asylum seekers detained both within Australia and offshore on the Pacific island of Nauru between 1999 and 2003 - when the numbers of detained asylum seekers reached its maximum and the government introduced offshore processing centres. Australia’s immigration detention regime sits awkwardly with the discourse of universal human rights and brings into sharp conflict two robust political values: the right of endangered people to seek refuge and the right of the nation to determine who will enter. Focusing on the experiences of detainees reveals immigration detention as a complex regime through which the state’s dominating power targets the stateless, non-white, male body. This targeting is intentional, serving to secure sovereign borders and to rearticulate the naturalised ties between the national population and the modern state. Immigration detention holds the seeker in a limbo that sets parameters for the seeker’s experience of ongoing and intensifying insecurity. It specifically and intentionally fractures the identity of detainees: masochistic actions and collective protests, from hunger strikes to breakouts, reflect the common currency of anxiety and violence. The creation of offshore camps was, in part, a response to ongoing protests within onshore detention and the failure of onshore detention to stop boat arrivals. My chief focus here is the largest Pacific camp, ‘Topside’, on the island of Nauru. Unlike the onshore detention centres where publicised protests and breakouts screamed of continuing detention of asylum seekers, those on Nauru were effectively silenced. The thesis explores purpose as inscribed within the body of the exile. To give up hope for asylum is to face the possibility of endless wandering and death. Mechanisms of resistance, whether explicit protest or more passive waiting, are parts of the continuing struggle by the detained against mechanisms of exclusion and exception. The detained carve out small openings to contest their exclusion and to reassert an identity as survivors. There is a complex and fluid interplay between such resistance and government policies aiming to silence protest and limit identity – and ultimately to deter all unauthorised boat arrivals.

This thesis interrogates immigration detention as a space of intricate ambivalence - one which seeks to exclude, but which is also entreated to protect. The focus is so-called ‘unauthorised’ asylum seekers detained both within Australia and offshore on the Pacific island of Nauru between 1999 and 2003 - when the numbers of detained asylum seekers reached its maximum and the government introduced offshore processing centres. Australia’s immigration detention regime sits awkwardly with the discourse of universal human rights and brings into sharp conflict two robust political values: the right of endangered people to seek refuge and the right of the nation to determine who will enter. Focusing on the experiences of detainees reveals immigration detention as a complex regime through which the state’s dominating power targets the stateless, non-white, male body. This targeting is intentional, serving to secure sovereign borders and to rearticulate the naturalised ties between the national population and the modern state. Immigration detention holds the seeker in a limbo that sets parameters for the seeker’s experience of ongoing and intensifying insecurity. It specifically and intentionally fractures the identity of detainees: masochistic actions and collective protests, from hunger strikes to breakouts, reflect the common currency of anxiety and violence. The creation of offshore camps was, in part, a response to ongoing protests within onshore detention and the failure of onshore detention to stop boat arrivals. My chief focus here is the largest Pacific camp, ‘Topside’, on the island of Nauru. Unlike the onshore detention centres where publicised protests and breakouts screamed of continuing detention of asylum seekers, those on Nauru were effectively silenced. The thesis explores purpose as inscribed within the body of the exile. To give up hope for asylum is to face the possibility of endless wandering and death. Mechanisms of resistance, whether explicit protest or more passive waiting, are parts of the continuing struggle by the detained against mechanisms of exclusion and exception. The detained carve out small openings to contest their exclusion and to reassert an identity as survivors. There is a complex and fluid interplay between such resistance and government policies aiming to silence protest and limit identity – and ultimately to deter all unauthorised boat arrivals.

The aim of the study was to explore the experiences of displaced women living in the Osire refugee camp in Namibia about their health care needs, and to develop health care guidelines that will help to address the identified health care needs of displaced women. A descriptive phenomenological study was used, using face-to-face interviews with participants in response to one question. The following question was asked: What are the health care needs of displaced women living in Osire refugee camp and how should they be addressed? Ten women were interviewed. Their ages ranged between 18 and 58 years. The duration of displacement was longer than 6 months. Interviews were conducted in Osire Refugee Camp in Namibia. Displaced women were invited to participate in the study on a voluntary basis. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim. During the analysis the essence substantiated by the constituents of their experiences regarding their health care needs were identified. The findings of the health care needs of displaced women living in Osire refugee camp reflect that they have a need for restoration of hope and human dignity. A thorough literature review was done and the constituents were re-phrased to form guidelines on how to address the health care needs of displaced women. The guidelines were refined through a Delphi study. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Nursing Science / PhD / Unrestricted

LLM in Human Rights Law / The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa shows a clear and unambiguous undertaking by the state to develop a comprehensive social security system. In terms of Section 27 of the Constitution, it is provided that everyone has the right to have access to social security, including, if they are unable to support themselves and their dependants, appropriate social assistance. The section also obliges the state to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of each of these rights. Parts of the social assistance are, inter alia, child related social grants in terms of the Social Assistance Act. This research considers the question of statutory exclusion of children of asylum seekers from accessing and exercising their social security rights, in particular, social assistance grants relevant to the needs, assistance and protection of children. Such grants are already provided for by the law to the South African citizen, permanent resident and refugee children. The question which this study seeks to address is whether South African government is in compliance with its constitutional and international obligations in respect of the social security rights and social assistance for children of asylum seekers in South Africa. This would be carried out by reviewing and exploring relevant International, regional and national human rights instruments relevant and applicable to the social security rights and assistance to the children of asylum seekers.

The aim of the thesis is an outline of the evolution of European asylum policy of asylum policies towards asylum seekers within seven EU member countries since 1990. The brief description of common trends in asylum policy in European Union and EFTA (European Free Trade Zone) member countries and outline of current policy towards asylum seekers, where current living conditions are part of it. Also the position of asylum seekers in specific spheres such as education, right to work, financial and social security, health service and accommodation is discussed. Another goal is to compare the practices in the asylum policy in the Czech Republic with the policies towards the asylum seekers of other six EU member countries - Denmark, France, Germany, Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. There is also an introduction of governmental steps which deal with the immigration law or asylum law and therefore regulate the living conditions of asylum seekers in their country.

The study's overall objective is to demonstrate the correlation between refugee status and poor oral health outcomes by thoroughly explaining the refugee experience and showing the prevalence of associated oral diseases. All data and information regarding the oral health status of refugees and asylum-seekers are from numerous studies and different institutions. Refugees often experience traumatizing events such as assault, torture, starvation, and extreme dehydration, resulting in the rapid deterioration of health. However, despite the high prevalence of oral diseases such as caries, gum infections, and, oral health continues to be neglected once they arrive at their new destination. In countries like Germany, refugees from Syria and Iraq have a higher incidence of dental caries(Solyman and Schmidt-Westhausen, 2018). In comparison to their German citizen counterparts, who have shown significantly lower caries rates, a possible result from the advancement of a successful caries prevention program for children and adolescents (Splieth et al., 2019). By comparing the oral health status of refugees versus the native population of the country they have entered, the neglect of refugees' oral health becomes evident. This study aims to assess the barriers often experienced by refugee and asylum seekers that lead to poor oral health and examine the role of language, refugee perspective and health literacy education in the promoting dental care in this population. It is clear that a strong association exists between the social and physical barriers refugee experience and oral health. This is especially clear from evaluating the phases of a refugee's migration journey. There is an association between social barriers such as language and health literacy on oral health. It is well documented that when individuals are forced to relocate to new countries where a different language is spoken, healthcare systems can be challenging to navigate. Additionally, language plays a crucial role in shaping refugee perspectives of the oral health community, sometimes negatively; thus, arrival in their new home does not necessarily lead to improved care. Data comparing oral disease in natives versus refugees indicates significantly worse oral health status among recent refugees.

The right to an effective remedy is a fundamental principle of international human rights law, crucial for the protection of individuals, especially for asylum seekers who have faced human rights violations in their countries of origin. Due to the importance of this right, it was included in art. 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), however, this article did not provide a clear definition of what is an effective remedy. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), as the judicial body responsible for the application of the ECHR, discussed the right to an effective remedy in many cases in which the applicants claimed that their right to an effective remedy has been violated. The Court did not provide a specific definition rather it provided requirements for a remedy to be effective which will be discussed in this thesis. As the ECHR is applied to "everyone" as provided in article 1 of the Convention, asylum seekers can claim the violations of their right to an effective remedy before the ECtHR. This can provide a significant guarantee in the protection system for asylum seekers in different ways.   Art. 13 of the ECHR stipulated the national authorities are the main responsible for providing the right to an effective remedy. In case the national authorities failed in providing such remedy, hence the role of the ECtHR comes to provide such remedy which is known as the principle of subsidiarity. Also, as asylum seekers are the more vulnerable groups for forcible refoulement, it became important to discuss if the right to an effective remedy can be protect them against such refoulement.   This thesis aims to investigate the right to an effective remedy as evolved by the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. It analysis the interpretation of this right by the ECtHR to explain its requirements, type, and scope of application, Also, it focuses on the principle of subsidiarity and how it can be applied in this regard. Finally, it discussed the implementation of the right to an effective remedy in conjunction with the principle of non-refoulement to explain the scope of protection that can be guaranteed for asylum seekers against forcible refoulement.

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