Asylum and Immigration Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Asylum and Immigration Law - Essay Example Some of the reasons mentioned by these legal brains include the need for economic protection. Even in the light of the fact that rules that limit the movement of people from one country to another remain, there also remain the need for people to be trans-bordered once a while without going through the laid down procedure2. One condition that creates this legal exemption is the issue of asylum seeking. This paper discusses the Humanitarian Aims of the 1951 Geneva Convention and how the aims have been upheld by countries over the years – particularly the United Kingdom. Background to the Humanitarian Aims of the 1951 Geneva Convention In the year 2001, the world celebrated 50 years of passing the Status of Refugees through the 1951 Geneva Convention. Legal analysts note the humanitarian needs that accompanied the need for the convention. In the first place, Mason (2009) notes that there was a humanitarian need for the convention because of the increasing rate at which the number of refugees was multiplying the world over. She notes that â€Å"over 30 million â€Å"persons of concern to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees† can still be counted in the world today.3† In the midst of the increasing population of refugees, the fundamental human rights spelt out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDRH) by the United Nations General Assembly of 1948 covers and protect refugees also4. It is for this reason that in 1951; three years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Convention sought it prudent to institutionalize policies that protected the basic rights of refugees. Even more, there was the realization by the Geneva Convention to the effect that causes and factors that put people in the state of being refugees were mostly, inevitable, unpredictable and unintentional and thus the need to be empathetic towards the plight of refugees. In this direction, the FAO Corporate Document Repository (2009) states that †Å"as man-made disasters are one of the main causes that force people from their homes, international refugee law, contribute to protect human rights in emergency situations.5† It was indeed with such humanitarian aims that the leaders who met in Geneva in 1951 thought it prudent put together the Geneva Convention and Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees6. Overview of the UK Social Welfare System in protecting the rights of Asylum-seekers Even though the social welfare system of the United Kingdom was not structured purposely to cater for asylum seekers alone, the system has a lot of place and representation for asylum seekers; especially based on the core principles on which the system functions. Spicker (2001) quotes Asa Briggs (1961)7 who defines the principles on which the social welfare system of the United Kingdom operates as â€Å"a guarantee of minimum standards, including a minimum income; social protection in the event of insecurity; and the provision of servi ces at the best level possible.8† Since refugees fall under all these three wings of principles, it has become eminent on the United Kingdom Social Welfare System to over the years protect the rights of Asylum seekers. Once present, there are laws and legal reforms binding the United Kingdom government to put in place certain basic conditions and