“COVID-19 must not blind us. On the contrary, we must open our eyes to the weaknesses that this pandemic has laid bare to our societal models, for example,” she said in a pre-recorded statement.
Due to the pandemic, the annual debate for Heads of State and Government in the UN General Assembly Hall is mainly being held virtually.
Prime Minister Wilmès pointed to COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on people who already suffer heavily due to inequality, such as women, girls, children, the elderly and persons with a disability.
“At a time when we continue to combat this pandemic with strength and steely determination, as well as its consequences, we cannot nevertheless turn our back to the other major challenges facing us in the 21st century,” she continued.
“Geopolitical tensions are palpable, and conflicts rage or threaten to emerge across the globe. These tensions are simply exacerbated by the current health situation and they jeopardize the delicate balances reached in our world.”
For Ms. Wilmès, the situation in the Gulf remains of great concern. She called for the international community to “actively seek to preserve” the 2015 agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme.
The deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Programme of Action (JCPOA) sets out rules for monitoring the programme. It also guarantees that the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will have regular access to sites in the country.
“The JCPOA remains crucial to guarantee the exclusively peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear programme,” she said.
The Prime Minister also underlined the need for peace in the Middle East.
“There can be no solution to the conflict in the Middle East without a lasting and just solution the Palestinian question. There can be no peace in the Middle East without Israel enjoying the legitimate right to live in peace and security in internally-recognized borders. There can be no peace in the Middle East if we do not eradicate terrorism,” she stated.
Violent extremism and the climate crisis
Moving to the Sahel, Ms. Wilmès condemned the recent military coup in Mali, and extended her nation’s full support to regional and national efforts towards a civilian transition and the restoration of constitutional order.
Many of the challenges Mali faces are common to the wider region, such as terrorism, conflict between farmers and herders, and inter-communal tensions, she added, in calling for “a holistic approach” to counter violent extremism.
“Such an approach must emphasize good governance, the fight against impunity, the strengthening of democratic institutions, tackling the grievances of marginalized groups, as well as sustainable and inclusive development,” she advised.
Meanwhile, more regions of the world are now weathering the consequences of climate change. Ms. Wilmès said people are being driven from their homes due to drought and “abnormal meteorological conditions” in countries such as Somalia, Yemen and Afghanistan.
“The climate emergency is a challenge for peace. There is no more time to waste,” she said. “And this is a cause behind which each and every one of us must rally.”
Christian organizations representing nearly 2 billion people, representing around a quarter of humanity, have united in a call for more compassion in dealing with the dire situation of migrants and refugees in Europe.
“Solidarity should be the guiding principle governing migration and particularly refugee reception,” they said in a statement delivered to top European Union officials.
“We expect the European Union to reject the discourse and politics of fear and deterrence, and to adopt a principled stance and compassionate practice based on the fundamental values on which the EU is founded.”
The European Commission offices in Brussels received the ecumenical advocacy statement responding to the new EU Migrant Pact affecting migrants and refugees in Europe on Sept. 25.
Earlier in the week the UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration said that recent events in the Mediterranean have shown that the current system for refugees and migrants in the EU is unworkable and often carries devastating human consequences.
The two agencies issued a statement calling for a “truly common and principled approach” to European migration and asylum policies, asking for the same approach as the church organizations.
“The current approach in the EU is unworkable, untenable, and often carries devastating human consequences,” they said.
Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said, “The Pact presents the opportunity for Europe to show that it can uphold the fundamental right to asylum, while cooperating on pragmatic policies to identify those in need of international protection and share responsibility for them.
“We will welcome genuine efforts to ensure a fast, fair and effective protection regime in Europe, and pledge our full support and expertise to the European Commission and Member States in making it a reality.
WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
World Council of Churches interim general secretary Fr. Ioan Sauca. “Every nation’s asylum policies must reflect this sense of caring and trust as a shared journey, a solemn responsibility and a common witness.”
“Our organizations represent churches throughout Europe and globally, as well as church-based agencies particularly concerned with migrants, refugees and asylum seekers,” said the statement.
“As Christian organizations we are deeply committed to the inviolable dignity of the human person created in the image of God, as well as to the concepts of the common good, global solidarity and the promotion of a society that welcomes strangers, cares for those fleeing danger, and protects the vulnerable.”
The statement refers to the recent fire at the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, which left 13,000 migrants without a home.
Some 9,400 asylum seekers left homeless by the fire are now residing in a new government-run site, which was set, said UNHCR.
Jørgen Skov Sørensen, general secretary of the Conference of European Churches, and Dr Torsten Moritz, general secretary of the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe, delivered the statement to the EC.
“Our member churches, among other European faith traditions, remain committed to a transparent dialogue with the European Commission and the co-legislators, the council and the parliament in the context of Article 17 of the Lisbon Treaty,” he said.
“Churches also remain committed to building bridges between different opinions on migration, and certainly between refugees, migrants and Europeans.
“We believe that churches have a fundamental role in facilitating and contributing to the intercultural and interreligious encounters in Europe in order to strengthen efforts for coherent, just and peaceful societies.”
The statement handed in Brussels was co-signed by the ACT Alliance, the Anglican Communion, the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe, the Conference of European Churches, the European Region of the World Association for Christian Communication, the Evangelical Church of Greece, the Integration Center for Migrant Workers – Ecumenical Refugee Program, Non Profit Organisation of the Church of Greece, the Lutheran World Federation, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity , the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the World Communion of Reformed Churches (European Region), the World Council of Churches and the World Methodist Council.
Police, special security forces, and rescue workers rushed to a familiar location. A man armed with a meat cleaver wounded two people outside the former Paris offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
Here, 12 people were killed in 2015 after the magazine published cartoons about the Prophet Muhammad and Islam.
The man and a woman confirmed injured on Friday afternoon worked for a documentary film company. They were reportedly attacked during a smoke break outside.
The main suspect was identified as an 18-year-old man of Pakistani origin. Police detained him near the scene. But officials said six others were also in custody now and being questioned.
Friday’s attack is being treated as a terrorist incident, explained Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin. “Manifestly, it’s an act of Islamist terrorism. Obviously, there is little doubt. It’s a new bloody attack against our country, against journalists, against this society,” he told French television.
The interior minister also said the assailant arrived in France three years ago as an unaccompanied minor, apparently from Pakistan.
Officials revealed that the suspected assailant had already been detained a month ago for carrying a screwdriver. But he was not on police radar for Islamic radicalization.
Prosecutors say an investigation has been opened into an “attempted murder in relation to a terrorist enterprise.”
After uncertainty, French Prime Minister Jean Castex said the lives of the two wounded workers’ lives were not in danger. He offered the government’s solidarity with their families and colleagues.
But in the neighborhood, people are stunned. They say they were reliving the nightmare of the newsroom massacre five years ago. Magazine Charlie Hebdo strongly condemned the stabbings, which came after it republished.
Tragic episode
It said on social media: “This tragic episode shows us once again that fanaticism, intolerance, the origins of which will be revealed by the investigation, are still present in French society. It added, “There is no question of ceding anything.”
This month, Charlie Hebdo republished the same cartoons about the Prophet Muhammad and Islam that prompted the magazine’s deadly attack in 2015.
Its publication coincided with the start of the long-awaited terrorism trial of people accused as accomplices in the attack.
The court procedure comes in a deeply scarred nation by what many called a horrific act of brutality.
“And yet the crisis has also been an extraordinary force for division”, Boris Johnson said in a pre-recorded video address to the Assembly’s annual debate, being held virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Although the world is “up against the same enemy”, he pointed out that borders have been springing up “between friends and allies” and global supply chains disrupted with “cheque book wars on airport tarmacs” as nation vie for PPE.
“The very notion of the international community looks, frankly, pretty tattered”, Mr. Johnson observed.
“We simply can’t continue in this way”, he stressed, urging the delegates to “unite…against our common foe” lest everyone lose.
Amidst colossal economic suffering and nearly a million people dead the Prime Minister said “there is a moral imperative for humanity” to reach a joint understanding of how the pandemic began and how was able to spread to “collectively do our best to prevent a recurrence”.
The UK Prime Minister called the World Health Organization (WHO) “the one body that marshals humanity against the legions of disease” and announced a 30 per cent increase in funding over the next four years, amounting to £340 million.
As we strive for a vaccine, we must never cut corners — British Prime Minister
Calling himself a staunch supporter of science, Mr. Johnson said, “epidemiologists at Oxford University identified the first treatment for COVID-19” and shared with the world dexamethasone, a cheap medicine that reduces the risk of death by over a third for patients on ventilators, “so that as many as 1.4 million lives could be saved in the next six months”.
And as the biggest donor to Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, he explained that in June, the UK helped to raise almost $9 billion to immunize 300 million children against killer diseases and noted that there are 100 potential vaccines currently trying to clear the hurdles of safety and efficacy.
“But even as we strive for a vaccine, we must never cut corners, slim down the trials or sacrifice safety to speed”, Mr. Johnson asserted.
Protecting humanity
The Prime Minister vowed to use the UK’s presidency of the G20 richest nations to “create a new global approach to health security” based on a five-point plan to “protect humanity against another pandemic”. The first aim is to “stop a new disease before it starts”, he said, including by forging a global network of zoonotic research hubs, to spot animal pathogens that may cross the species barrier and infect humans.
Secondly is to develop the manufacturing capacity for treatments and vaccines on hand to stop organisms before they can attack or at least be able to quickly diagnose.
The next objectives are to design a global pandemic early-warning system, based on data collection and analyses, and then to have emergency response protocols should another crisis arise.
Finally, he urged every country to lift export controls wherever possible and cancel tariffs on gloves, protective equipment, thermometers and other critical products.
“Never again must we wage 193 different campaigns against the same enemy”, the British Prime Minister official upheld.
The first floor consists of agreements to “keep people, for a better life, in their countries.” The second floor contains the EU border and coast guard agency, well equipped to close off the EU’s borders as much as possible. And the third floor is focused on what Schinas describes as a “system of permanent, effective solidarity,” which would allow those asylum-seekers that nevertheless make it through to Europe to be distributed among the member states — either to be taken in by willing nations or for eventual deportation.
But this delicately constructed new European asylum policy has once again been demolished with a crash by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, along with his Visegrad colleagues from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Orban wants nothing to do with the third floor and its redistribution of asylum-seekers within the EU, “return sponsorships” and “mandatory solidarity.” Sebastian Kurz, the anti-migration chancellor of neighboring Austria, also believes the word “solidarity” is wrong where asylum-seekers are concerned.
In a matter of days, the Commission’s proposed migration pact, long in the making, is already not worth the paper it’s printed on. Schinas’ migration blueprints have been met with near-universal criticism. Lukewarm support has only come from Berlin, Rome and Paris, along with remarks that the proposal was a basis for negotiation and a step in the right direction. But that direction remains undefined.
What’s clear, however, is that this proposal will not achieve anything — a view that is shared by many migration experts. The Commission’s plan is unrealistic, because the intransigent anti-immigration forces in Eastern and Central Europe were always going to shoot it down in flames.
Orban, Kurz and the rest want to completely seal off the borders to “irregular” migrants, and have called for all asylum-seekers to be sent across the EU‘s external frontier. That would mean an end to any right to asylum, a fundamental right which the EU has until now guaranteed and to which it has committed on the international stage.
And now? We’ll likely, once again, see years of negotiations about the many individual details of the migration pact, only for all parties to admit in the end that no agreement can be reached. Faster asylum procedures and deportations of rejected asylum-seekers are already possible, as they’re already part of existing EU law. Why EU member states don’t make use of these laws, instead of keeping people detained on Greek islands or letting them drift in the Mediterranean somewhere between Libya and Italy, remains a mystery.
EU’s migrant deterrence strategy
This seeming reluctance to act must be part of some deceptive deterrence strategy. The EU seems to want to prove that conditions in the bloc are worse than in Turkey, Libya or Syria, so that asylum-seekers don’t decide to make the journey in the first place.
Even Ylva Johansson, the EU commissioner for home affairs responsible for migration, has begun speaking of deterrence as the goal of the migration pact. Two-thirds of asylum-seekers have seen their applications rejected and thus have to be sent back home, she has pointed out. That may sound good — but the problem is that many countries of origin refuse to take back their citizens. Sometimes it’s even impossible to determine where people came from in the first place, and people can end up going underground to avoid the authorities. The number of people who actually end up being deported is unbelievably low. There doesn’t appear to be any room in Schinas’ plan to deal with these problems. Maybe his house is missing a floor?
More shelters like Moria on the way?
And how will this help the people on Lesbos — the migrants, the aid workers, the authorities and the residents of the Greek islands? It won’t. New, terrible migrant camps like Moria could be set up to replace the destroyed facility. Many more Morias will be necessary if all examination and asylum procedures end up taking place directly at the border, as proposed in the new migration pact. People will have to be detained there, especially if they are to be returned directly to their countries of origin. New closed camps would also have to be set up in Spain and Italy.
The builders of Europe’s new migration house did offer one bit of supposed comfort: With just 140,000 irregular migrants arriving in the EU each year, the European Commission said the bloc was far from a crisis, and that it wouldn’t do to overdramatize the situation. They should give that advice to Viktor Orban. To the people living in shelters on the Greek islands, it just sounds like cynical mockery.
This commentary has been translated from German by Timothy Jones
How did Europe’s refugee crisis start?
Fleeing war and poverty
In late 2014, with the war in Syria approaching its fourth year and Islamic State making gains in the north of the country, the exodus of Syrians intensified. At the same time, others were fleeing violence and poverty in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Niger and Kosovo.
How did Europe’s refugee crisis start?
Seeking refuge over the border
Vast numbers of Syrian refugees had been gathering in border-town camps in neighboring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan since 2011. By 2015, with the camps full to bursting and residents often unable to find work or educate their children, more and more people decided to seek asylum further afield.
How did Europe’s refugee crisis start?
A long journey on foot
In 2015 an estimated 1.5 million people made their way on foot from Greece towards western Europe via the “Balkan route”. The Schengen Agreement, which allows passport-free travel within much of the EU, was called into question as refugees headed towards the wealthier European nations.
How did Europe’s refugee crisis start?
Desperate sea crossings
Tens of thousands of refugees were also attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean on overcrowded boats. In April 2015, 800 people of various nationalities drowned when a boat traveling from Libya capsized off the Italian coast. This was to be just one of many similar tragedies – by the end of the year, nearly 4,000 refugees were reported to have died attempting the crossing.
How did Europe’s refugee crisis start?
Pressure on the borders
Countries along the EU’s external border struggled to cope with the sheer number of arrivals. Fences were erected in Hungary, Slovenia, Macedonia and Austria. Asylum laws were tightened and several Schengen area countries introduced temporary border controls.
How did Europe’s refugee crisis start?
Closing the open door
Critics of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “open-door” refugee policy claimed it had made the situation worse by encouraging more people to embark on the dangerous journey to Europe. By September 2016, Germany had also introduced temporary checks on its border with Austria.
How did Europe’s refugee crisis start?
Striking a deal with Turkey
In early 2016, the EU and Turkey signed an agreement under which refugees arriving in Greece could be sent back to Turkey. The deal has been criticized by human rights groups and came under new strain following a vote by the European Parliament in November to freeze talks on Turkey’s potential accession to the EU.
How did Europe’s refugee crisis start?
No end in sight
With anti-immigration sentiment in Europe growing, governments are still struggling to reach a consensus on how to handle the continuing refugee crisis. Attempts to introduce quotas for the distribution of refugees among EU member states have largely failed. Conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere show no signs coming to an end, and the death toll from refugee sea crossings is on the rise.
The young people, members of the YCW at Mthawira Christ the King parish, led with the most contributions by collectively donating US$750. The Mthawira YCW actually comprises less than thirty active members.
The parish of Mthawira organised the event to raise funds for the completion of a security fence around the Church land. The parish also has plans to purchase a minibus. In all, the parish event raised US$ 6,533 from contributions of parish groups and Small Christian Communities.
Chairperson of the Mthawira Church Council, Gracian Tukula commended parishioners and in a special way the young people of the parish YCW. He praised the generosity and sense of responsibility demonstrated by the young people. He said they were pillars of the Catholic Church of the future.
“Last year, they invited me to attend their end of year party and I honoured the invitation where I challenged them to do more in supporting the Church; that they should not look down upon themselves. Here they are, they have carried the day,” said Tukula.
Tukula also challenged other Church groups under Mthawira Catholic Church to follow the good example set by parish YCW.
Leader of Mthawira YCW, Edgar Nyirenda, said their contribution to the fundraising drive was guided by the YCW motto that challenges them to See, Judge and Act.
“When our leaders made an appeal to everyone in the Church to contribute generously, we saw it worthy to support the Church and the purpose of the event justified the judgement to support the Church hence the act,” said Nyirenda.
A generous donation
In the context of Malawi, both the parish fundraising event and the generosity of the parish YCW are remarkable given that Malawi remains one of the poorest countries in the world. A 31 July 2020 World Bank Report noted that Malawi has recently posted significant economic and structural reforms to sustain economic growth. The economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, employing nearly 80% of the population. The country is also vulnerable to external shocks, particularly climatic disasters that range from drought, flooding and recently Cyclones. Apart from the weather, the COVID-19 pandemic has further negatively impacted economic growth.
Covid-19 and its consequences on parish, community belonging and family life are helping Canadian bishops understand the path forward toward rebuilding. These and other lessons learned from the past through listening circles with indigenous peoples and their journey through providing protection to minors were the foundation of topics for the Canadian Bishops’ Plenary assembly.
More than 80 Bishops making up the Canadian Bishops’ Conference (CCCB) gathered online this past week in a first-ever virtual plenary meeting. Christopher Wells spoke with the president of the CCCB, Archbishop Richard Gagnon.
Bishops representing Canada’s four episcopal regions presented a report to their brother bishops regarding how Covid-19 is affecting their region. They discussed the challenges, the hopes and how “the Church has been coping with it”.
“The Church demonstrates a lot of creativity”, Archbishop Gagnon says, despite the suffering and difficulties people are facing. He said the Church has learned new ways of communicating and about the role of the domestic church. Many parishes, he said, “are now live streaming on a regular basis”.
Rebuilding after the pandemic
“The rebuilding of communities” will be one of the first priorities after the pandemic, Archbishop Gagnon points out. Many people will have lost physical contact with their parishes and may have become used to live-streamed Masses. This will mean rebuilding and emphasizing the importance of community, he continued. “Even with a vaccine, it will take a long time for people to start connecting with their parish communities in person”.
This rebuilding, however, has to take into consideration the lessons learned during the lockdown: the “importance of the domestic church – that parents are the first teachers of the children in the ways of the faith – the lessons about living our faith under difficulty, the lessons of the family in these times of the pandemic, the lessons of the importance of community, and finally of how important the sacramental life is”.
“So we are learning on a daily basis how to move forward and trying to plan for a rebuilding of our communities.”
Wake-up Call
One of the “wake-up calls” the Archbishop draws attention to is “how sometimes the secular authorities, the governments, overlook the faith communities and don’t always consult with them in decision-making”. In a secular age, he says, this is something worthy considering.
Listen to our interview with Archbishop Richard Gagnon
Other topics discussed
One of the decisions made during the Plenary was to ove the Catholic Organization for Life in the Family, operating until now at the diocesan level, and incorporate it within the structure of the CCCB.
An initiative undertaken to listen to the indigenous peoples in Canada was also discussed. Listening circles have provided indigenous peoples, Church leaders and Bishops the opportunity to share experiences and the wounds sustained in the past. The goal is “walking together into the future”, the Archbishop states. Several “future major national initiatives are being planned in collaboration with indigenous to leadership in Canada. And there is a very good sense of walking together with important leaders of indigenous groups in Canada.” These groups included the “First Nations people, the Inuit people of the north, and also the Métis people in Canada”.
Updated guidelines addressing sexual misconduct by members of the clergy were published in 2018 by the CCCB, entitled Protecting Minors from Sexual Abuse: A Call to the Catholic Faithful in Canada for Healing, Reconciliation, and Transformation. “The efforts throughout Canada to bring longstanding protocols and guidelines that deal with the question of sexual misconduct and abuse into line with the new guidelines produced by the CCCB is an ongoing work in Canada. The standing committee encourages and assists the implementation of these new guidelines and aligning what came before with them”.
Pope Francis’s solidarity
Lastly, Archbishop Gagnon said the Bishops united in Plenary received a letter from Pope Francis.
“He expressed his solidarity with them, his closeness to us, his prayers are with us, he’s aware of the topics we’ve been discussing. That’s very encouraging to receive his blessing and his prayers.”
Speaking in 45th committee of Human Right Council, Esmaeil Baghaei Hamaneh reacted to the European Union’s move to issue a joint statement against Iran at the Human Rights Council and added that it is a pity that some countries are advising others over respecting for human rights, while they’re ignoring their previous and current crimes and they are concealing the fact that much of the suffering of others is the result of their past colonial policies and their own hegemonic mentality.
Criticizing western countries’ approach towards Human Rights, the envoy attributed such a policy only as a political tool to achieve some purposes such as creating conflicts between countries and the degradation of Human Rights.
Some European countries have turned the Human Rights Council into an arena for intervention in the affairs of the developing countries, he added.
Pointing out that the enforcement of laws is the necessary way to protect and respect human rights, Baghaei Hamaneh called it unacceptable to put pressure on other governments under the name of human rights to change the countries’ domestic legal system or to interfere in court cases.
He said that the best way to achieve the goals of the Human Rights Council is the dialogue and cooperation based on the principle of neutrality and avoiding accusing others.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he warned of continuing widespread and systematic violations against Palestinian human rights in the Occupied Territories and called on the Human Rights Council to prevent the Zionist Regime, whose existence is based on terrorism and aggression, from normalizing its brutality and gross violations of Human Rights.
The TimesMalta reported that Labour MEP Alfred Sant has been appointed a member of a tax subcommittee created to battle tax fraud and work for financial transparency.
Sant will form part of FISC, the permanent tax subcommittee of the Economic and Monetary affairs committee in the European Parliament.
The committee was created to ensure the European Parliament has a permanent structure that can fight tax fraud, tax evasion and tax avoidance, as well as promote financial transparency for taxation purposes.
Previously, the European Parliament would set up special committees or inquiries to delve into tax scandals. Plans to create a more permanent structure were officially endorsed in 2019 when MEPs voted in favour of the idea during the vote on the final report of the Special Committee on Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance (TAX3 Committee).
Sant, an economist by training, has previously worked on similar tax subcommittees, most notably in the protection of whistleblowers and in tax transparency.
In a statement announcing that he would form part of FISC, a spokesperson for the MEP said Sant’s inclusion was especially important given ongoing talks between Malta and international institutions on strengthening its governance provisions and anti-money laundering structures.
Thousands of EU nationals could face problems accessing essential services because the government is refusing to issue physical proof of their right to live in the UK.
The settlement scheme grants EU citizens the right to remain in the UK after Brexit. Unlike other foreign nationals, they are not provided with a biometric residency permit proving their status.
Instead they have to access the Home Office’s online database each time they need to produce evidence of eligibility.
The process, which requires applicants to have a smartphone and reliable internet access, is part of a government plan to phase out paper permits and make the entire immigration service digital.
But it means those with settled status and service providers have to negotiate a sequence of logins, emails and share codes to confirm their eligibility. And critics claim the challenges of the online system could prevent them accessing jobs, housing and medical treatment.
“A lot can go wrong – technology outages, people unable to navigate the digital system and service providers unwilling to engage with it,” says Maike Bohn, a co-founder of the support group the3million, which is campaigning for a paper backup document while the digital system beds in.
“We don’t want a two-tier society developing in the UK: British and non-EU citizens who can prove their right to work and access healthcare anytime, anywhere, simply by showing a physical card or passport – and EU citizens who cannot.”
Problems are already emerging for people who have attempted to use the new system.
Elisabeth Dodds had the offer of a £50,000 home improvement loan rescinded when her bank insisted on proof of her status.
“I submitted both a copy of my letter from the Home Office confirming that I had been granted settled status, as well as the share code for checking my status online,” she said.
“Royal Bank of Scotland [RBS] refused to accept this information. On advice from a loan adviser, I printed out the Home Office documents, including screenshots from the Home Office website showing I have indefinite leave, and brought it into a bank branch.
“This was also rejected. I was variously told they had never heard of settled status and were powerless to change what form of proof they could accept.”
Royal Bank of Scotland said it could not change what form of proof it could accept from Dodds. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images
A survey published this month by the3million found that only 14% of companies questioned were clear on the new rules for employing EU citizens after free movement ends in December, while one in five would more readily accept a biometric permit as evidence of status over a digital check.
Strict penalties on employers, landlords and banks that fail to verify the immigration status of applicants mean that those unfamiliar with the requirements may err on the side of caution and reject EU nationals.
Research by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants shows that only three in 150 landlords would be prepared to perform digital checks on prospective tenants.
An EU passport remains valid proof of status until July 2021, but there are concerns about what will happen after that.
Dodds, who is American but qualifies for settled status as the spouse of a Swedish national, later secured a loan from another lender that did not require status verification, but fears for the future when EU passports are no longer valid proof.
RBS apologised after being contacted by the Guardian. “We would like to reassure customers, and prospective customers, that this was an isolated incident. We should not have rejected this application,” a spokesperson said.
Paula Uusnäkki, an EU national, was one of the first to apply for settled status when the scheme was launched in 2018. She received an email confirming her application had been approved, but when she attempted to view her status in June the system had no record of her.
“Fortunately, I discovered this before needing to officially prove my status to a landlord or employer,” she said.
A letter from the Home Office confirming that a person has been granted settled status. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian
Some have found their access to the online service compromised after updating their passport details or address on the Home Office system.
Gina Fierlafijn, who is Flemish, never received the promised email confirming that her new passport number had been successfully logged. Her status has been updated but she still has to log in using her expired passport number to access it.
“Fortunately I kept a note of it so I do have it for the future,’ she says. ‘This online system seems totally inadequate and I am sure will fail many of us.”
Victor Piris has been locked out of his online status after updating his address last month.
The Spanish national received the email confirmation that the new details had been logged, but since then a message has informed him that his details don’t match Home Office records when he tries to log in.
“This means if I have to prove my rights, I’m unable to do so. What would happen to me if this happens again when the transition period ends?”
The government is refusing to change its stance and issue backup permits, despite its own assessment concluding that a digital only service could disadvantage many users.
The Home Office said its policy was part of a move to digitalise the entire immigration service. “Physical documents expire, become invalid, or can be lost, stolen or tampered with,” a spokesperson said.
“A digital status is more secure and ensures that EU citizens who are granted status in the UK can constantly access and securely share proof of their status. We see no reason why any institution should not accept a migrant’s online information as evidence of immigration status and will be launching an extensive package of communications to ensure individuals, employers, landlords and other third parties are fully aware of the move to digital.”
Settled status: how it works
The UK government’s website says the letter you get emailed to confirm your settled or pre-settled status cannot be used as proof of it. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
When the Brexit transition process comes to an end on 31 December, people from the EU, EEA or Switzerland who live in the UK will need to apply for settled status to retain their rights to work, use the NHS and claim benefits.
The scheme is open and will remain so until 30 June, but anyone applying must be living in the UK by the end of this year. If you have lived in Britain for a continuous five-year period, subject to a few exceptions, you can qualify for settled status. Otherwise, you will get pre-settled status and apply to change this once you have built up five years’ residency.
The application is free. Once granted you will be able to work and have access to the NHS and claim pensions and other state benefits if you are eligible.
The government’s website is clear that the letter you get emailed to confirm your settled or pre-settled status cannot be used as proof of it. Instead, you can get a share code that you will need to give people, along with your date of birth, so they can go online and see your status.
Citizens Advice’s guidance is that until 1 January you should still be able to use your passport or ID card to prove your right to work, rent or access the NHS.
“If an employer or landlord asks you to prove your settled status before 1 January 2021, this could be discrimination,” its website advises. After that, local councils, landlords and employers should be able to use the digital process to check your status. Hilary Osborne
