The Petition of the Mahoro Must Stay Campaign,

Declares that Adela Mahoro Mugabo, who is to be removed to Rwanda, is the widow of a man murdered in 2002 by the Interharamwe Hutus, and as a Hutu herself was accused by the Rwandan Military Intelligence of covering up for her husband’s murderers. The Petitioners further declare that Mahoro was tortured and raped, and is now HIV-positive, and that if she is returned to Rwanda she will still be in danger and will be unable to get the anti-retroviral drugs she needs to survive.

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Home Secretary to instruct a reconsideration of the Home Office decision and allow Adela Mahoro Mugabo to stay in the UK, a safe environment in which she will be able to lead a healthy life.

And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Mr. John Leech, Official Report, 9 December 2009; Vol. 502, c. 468.]

[P000493]

Observations from the Secretary of State for the Home Department:

The Government are committed to providing safety to those individuals found to be genuinely in need of protection. The Government would not seek to enforce returns to Rwanda unless they were satisfied it was safe to do so. In the absence of compelling evidence to suggest that a particular unsuccessful asylum seeker is at risk of persecution on return, the Government believe that the UK Border Agency are justified in maintaining their policy of enforcing the return of unsuccessful asylum seekers.

The Home Office Country of Origin information Service closely monitors the human rights situation in all the countries that generate asylum seekers to the United Kingdom including Rwanda. It provides accurate, objective, sourced and up to date information on asylum seekers’ countries of origin, for use by UK Border Agency officials involved in the asylum determination process. In dealing with applications from Rwanda caseworkers have access to detailed Country of Origin Information Reports which are published biannually on the top 20 asylum intake countries. These reports focus on the main issues raised in asylum and human rights applications to the UK. They are compiled from a wide range of reliable external information sources including international organisations such as UNHCR and non-governmental organisations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International and the media.

The UK Border Agency has confirmed that a decision has been made on Ms Mugabo’s case. The UK Border Agency would like to assure the petitioners that the Country of Origin reports for Rwanda and Ms Mugabo’s circumstances, along with their petition, were taken into account when a decision was made. Ms Mugabo will be notified of the outcome of her case shortly.