Kyrenia, Cyprus still illegally occupied Forty Years on

This weekend I am visiting the exiled Municipality of Kyrenia whom earlier this year I hosted in the European Parliament. (Please see attached video) next month marks the 40th anniversary of the illegal Turkish invasion. Which displaced the Greek Cypriot community. Disturbingly more than 1100 families still do not know what happened to lived ones who simply disappeared.

I will be writing more about this over the weekend.

Updates from Human rights delegation to Qatar

An agena for better Human Rights in the Eastern Partnership Countries - a press release

West Midlands MEP Nikki Sinclaire will host a conference to address the issue of Human Trafficking at the European Parliament in Brussels next week.

The conference, entitled, "Strategies for protecting Women and Children from Trafficking in Europe" will see Politicians and other experts in the field discuss this critical issue.

The We Demand a Referendum Now MEP is well known within the Parliament for her work in the field of Human Rights.

In 2009, the UK adopted the National Referral Mechanism, in an attempt to identify potential victims of Human Trafficking.

In the first three months of 2013, there were 407 referrals of adults and minors.

As of July 2013, the most common countries of origin for people referred were Albania, Nigeria, and Poland. Of those referrals, where people were found to have actually been trafficked, the most common foreign countries of origin were Poland and Romania. Albania, Hungary and the Czech Republic also feature as being problematic.

Of those people confirmed to have been trafficked who were adults, the 5 main countries of origin are Poland, Romania, Albania, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

The most common reason for exploitation is sexual. 70% of all victims were found to be female. The age group 21 – 30 is the most common amongst those who are trafficked.

Of the children referred, sexual exploitation is again the most common designated category. Again, females are in the majority.

In terms of numbers of referrals by first responder (emergency services), West Midlands is second only to the London Met.

Nikki Sinclaire MEP said,

"This is a very real problem across the EU, and in the UK we must do more to identify those who are the victims of human trafficking, and new measures that could be implemented to prevent these crimes happening.

Modern slavery exists in the UK and destroys lives. It manifests in an appallingly wide range of forms. Adults and children – UK nationals and those from abroad – are exploited in the sex industry, through forced labour, domestic servitude in the home, and forced criminal activity.

I am very proud to host this event and I hope that we can raise awareness for an issue that is often misunderstood, even by social care professionals"

 

Human Rights delegation to Bahrain

 

 

Back from a human rights fact finding mission in Bahrain. This included high level meetings with Government ministers and members of Parliament as well as human rights defenders. This also included a visit to Jau prison to visit Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and Ibrahim Sharif. They are both incarcerated for allegedly taking part in violent demonstrations. 

 

 

 

Speech in Strasbourg: No to the European Human Rights Law

As an MEP I deal with constituency issues on a daily basis; issues where EU law affects their daily lives either directly or indirectly.

I am here today to tell you that there is one deeply flawed law that above all others, damages British life and put our lives in daily peril.

It is the Human Rights Act. It is a rotten law that Britain loathes

Human Rights are worth protecting.

 I am vocal in the protection of Human Rights.

The Human Rights Act was created in Britain by the Labour Party who despite warnings were reckless as to the consequences.

However, this EU-backed, and now soon to be enshrined law is now routinely and regularly abused by those who cause havoc in civil society: terrorists, criminals and illegal immigrants.

More often than not judges whom apply Human Rights Law decide that those rights trump those of the majority decent, honest hard-working British people. 

The case of Abu Qatada is attracting media attention. Human Rights Law, by allowing Qatada to dodge deportation to Jordan, has inflamed the British public.

Simply, the Court of Human Rights leaves Britain unable to defend its interests. In a recent survey, 75% of British people think that the Act should be scrapped all together.

It is the Lisbon Treaty that allows the EU to sign up to the ECHR which further imprisons the British public who never got a chance to say no by referenda.

Let me tell you the British people are shouting loud

No the European Human Rights Law Release us from the shackles