§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they consider that the human rights situation worsened in Zimbabwe between 2002 and 2003, and, if so, why a higher proportion of applications for asylum and appeals to adjudicators against refusal of applications for asylum by Zimbabweans was rejected in 2003 than in 2002. [HL1612]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanAccording to the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO forum, by some measures the human rights situation in Zimbabwe was worse in 2002 than in 2003, largely due to the presidential elections that year. By other measures (for example total number of assaults, unlawful arrests, restrictions on freedom of movement and press freedom), the situation was worse in 2003.
Asylum issues are a matter for the Home Office. Each asylum case is dealt with on its own merits.
10WA
§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What reference material is accessed by officials dealing with asylum applications of citizens from Zimbabwe other than the six-monthly Home Office Country Information Policy Unit reports [HL1757]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal)Where the necessary information is not available in the country report, information from a wide variety of published sources may be accessed by caseworkers, although they are expected to seek advice initially from senior caseworkers or the Country Information and Policy Unit (CIPU). In the case of Zimbabwe, such sources may include the Movement for Democratic Change's website, the monthly violence reports compiled by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum, or the integrated regional information network (IRIN) news network of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.