EU and UN seek to halt Britains deportation of radical Islamists

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EU May Set Up Hurdles to British Plan to Deport Islamists
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
September 01, 2005

(CNSNews.com) - Already under fire from United Nations rights officials, Prime Minister Tony Blair this week faces the possibility that the European Union may complicate plans to deport foreign-born radical Islamists who incite terrorism in Britain.

On Thursday, E.U. justice and security commissioner Franco Frattini is due to unveil a new directive covering how member states should deal with the issue of getting rid of unwanted foreign nationals and failed asylum-seekers.

The document will emphasize the need for countries to abide by international treaties, including the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and a 1951 U.N. refugee convention.

The ECHR prohibits deporting individuals to a country where they could face "torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," while the refugee treaty says no state may return a refugee to a territory where his life or freedom would be threatened.

The E.U. directive will include provisions for people under expulsion orders to appeal their removal, and set restrictions on the amount of time a government may detain an individual after a court has ordered deportation.

The directive seeks to establish a common policy for the 25 member states, to prevent illegal immigrants from exploiting differences in standards set by individual European countries.

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Last week the U.N. Commission on Human Rights' special rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, intervened in the debate, saying "diplomatic assurances" were not effective safeguards and urging Britain not to send individuals to countries where they faced the risk of torture.