Webinar: How is the Border Security Bill punishing refugees?
An in-depth discussion with refugees, torture survivors, LGBTQ+ campaigners and asylum policy experts on the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.
When the Labour government came into power last summer many of us had high hopes they would reform the asylum system, making it compassionate and fair.
But over the last few months, they've introduced several cruel policies, including their recent refugee citizenship ban. These threaten the rights of torture survivors and people fleeing unimaginable horror.
The most notable policy proposal put forward is the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which features a number of punishing proposals. And it is going through Parliament right now - so it’s time to act.
We're hosting a webinar on Wednesday 30 April at 6:30pm (BST) to bring supporters up to speed with the Bill and explain how you can stand up against its punishing policies.
-
Date: Wednesday 30 April
-
Time: 6:30pm-7:45pm (BST)
-
Where: Online
Who are our speakers:
Join us to hear from refugees, torture survivors, LGBTQ+ activists and policy experts on how this Bill is impacting people seeking safety and why we need to act NOW – plus there will be a Q&A with the panel.
Chair:
- Mathilda Della Torre: Mathilda is a human rights campaigner currently working as the UK Activism Manager at Ben and Jerry's. She’s also the founder of Conversations from Calais and author of Conversations From Calais: Sharing Refugee Stories, a global art movement that captures moments between volunteers and refugees in poster form.
Panellists:
- Nadine Tunasi: UK Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict (PSVI) Survivor Champion & working at Freedom From Torture, managing the survivor activism work. Nadine has been leading the work by making sure survivors’ experiences are used as expertise in shaping policies on matters that affect them. She is also a member of One Strong Voice, the first coalition network of lived experience in the UK. Nadine has written poems and short stories and is the author of 'My hands' which was interpreted by Kate Whitley.
- Jonathon Kazembe: Expert by Experience Manager at Refugee Action, a Trustee at Caplor Horizons and One Strong Voice Representative at the Strategic Engagement Group (SEG). He brings a decade of community engagement experience (Freedom from Torture, NHS England, City of Sanctuary Manchester) to champion refugee empowerment through grassroots campaigning, frontline services, and the Expert by Experience Steering Group. His focus is on strengthening meaningful refugee participation.
- Sonya Sceats: Chief Executive of Freedom from Torture. She is a qualified Australian lawyer specialising in international human rights law. Sonya has over 20 years' experience working on domestic and international human rights issues for organisations including Chatham House, Amnesty International, and the British Institute of Human Rights.
- Joel Mordi: A Nigerian LGBTQI+ activist based in the UK, working with Rainbow Migration. After organising Nigeria’s first month-long Pride protest in 2019, he was forced to flee the country and seek asylum in the UK. His experience as an LGBTQI+ refugee deepened his commitment to advocating for LGBTQI+ refugee rights. He co-founded the "Two Refugees Walking" project, a 2,500-mile walk across London with Amanda Kamanda, raising awareness and support for displaced LGBTQI+ people.
