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UN Special Rapporteur to officially criticise Government over refusal to allow visit to Yarl's Wood immigration detention centre

Summary

The Guardian says Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women will censure Government for preventing her from inspecting Yarl's Wood

By EIN
Date of Publication:

The Guardian reported on Saturday that the official report on the visit to the UK by Rashida Manjoo, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, will criticise the Government for not allowing her to visit the Yarl's Wood immigration detention centre.

As reported by BBC News during the Special Rapporteur's visit to the UK in April, Manjoo said she believed an order to stop her gaining access to Yarl's Wood had come from the highest levels at the Home Office.

The Home Office said a tour of Yarl's Wood was never agreed as part of the visit.

The Guardian notes that there have been accusations of the sexual abuse of female detainees at Yarl's Wood by members of staff. Earlier this month, the Guardian quoted Labour's Yvette Cooper as saying: "There needs to be a proper, independent investigation into allegations of sexual abuse at Yarl's Wood."

On Saturday, the Guardian quoted the UN Special Rapporteur as saying: "If you look at my Bangladeshi report, I was denied entry to a refugee camp and I have made a note in my report, in the same way I will put in the UK report that I was denied entry to Yarl's Wood."

"I can't speculate on the state's reasons since I wasn't giving access to discuss the issue. Whether there is something to hide, whether there's a denial or whether there's a lack of accountability I wouldn't be able to comment, because I didn't go."

The Guardian notes that a parliamentary inquiry is expected to publish a critical report on immigration detention next month.