APPENDIX 7
Memorandum submitted by the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office on British nationals forced into marriage
in Pakistan (30 June 2000)
SUMMARY
1. Last year the FCO's posts saw over a
100 cases of young British nationals forced into marriage by their
family.
2. The Government is determined to work
with Britain's minority ethnic communities to end the practice
of forced marriage, and to help its victims. The report by the
Working Group on Forced Marriage set up by the Home Office is
a key first step. The emphasis is rightly on the parents and communities
in the UK.
3. But the overseas dimension is an integral
part of the problem. The FCO has a key role to play in assisting
the victims of forced marriage, and has made a clear commitment
to do so. The FCO has launched a major programme of reform and
activity to achieve this aim. The issue is a complex one, and
there will be no easy answers.
4. The role of the FCO's entry clearance
officers and the entry clearance process is a particularly difficult
one, where the requirements of natural justice render impossible
apparently obvious and simple solutions.
5. The Newsnight report from Mirpur on 31
May made a number of allegations about the British High Commission
in Islamabad. These are answered individually.
A. THE PROBLEM
6. Last year our posts saw over a 100 British
nationals who told us they had been or were about to be forced
into marriage by their families:
7. No cases came to our attention in other
countries. The majority of these cases first come to the attention
of our staff through the entry clearance process, when it becomes
apparent that the sponsor of a settlement visa application is
a reluctant spouse. A significant minority come to the FCO's attention
as consular cases—
British nationals in distress requiring consular
protection.
8. The majority of these victims, but not
all of them, are women. Almost all claim to have been forced into
marriage by their own families. In a few cases consent may have
been given before the marriage which then turns out badly, and
the victims feel he or she has acted under duress. In many of
the cases, the victims have been tricked into going overseas by
their families. They have been told they are visiting their grandparents,
or going to a cousin's wedding. Victims tell of being held against
their will, of being beaten or sexually abused.
B. THE GOVERNMENT'S
RESPONSE AND
THE WORKING
GROUP REPORT
9. The Government is determined to work
with Britain's minority ethnic communities to end the practice
of forced marriage. The lead, and the long-term solution, can
only come from within those communities. The only lasting answer
will be for those communities to make clear that the practice
is wholly unacceptable. Many in those communities have already
taken an impressive and public stand on the issue.
10. In August 1999 the Home Office established
a Working Group on Forced Marriage to investigate the problem
and make proposals for tackling it effectively, The Working Group
was chaired by Baroness Uddin and Lord Ahmed, and brought together
representatives from women's groups and other community organisations.
The FCO, along with other government departments, attended the
Working Group in an advisory capacity.
11. The Working Group published its report
on 29 June 2000. A copy is appended to this Memorandum. The Working
Group sets out a clear definition of forced marriage—"a
marriage conducted without the valid consent of both parties,
where duress is a factor." The report underlines the importance
of clearly distinguishing forced marriage from arranged marriage;
and of having an understanding of the motivation of parents.
12. This does not mean accepting there is
any justification for denying the right to choose a marriage partner.
But this is a complex matter with different perspectives. Among
the factors mentioned to the Working Group were:
— peer group or family pressure;
— attempting to strengthen family links;
— protecting perceived cultural and
religious ideals;
— preventing "unsuitable"
relationships (eg outside ethnic, cultural, religious or caste
groups);
— long-standing family commitments;
and
— controlling female behaviour and
sexuality.
13. While the focus has been the communities
from the Indian Subcontinent, the Working Group heard of cases
happening in the UK from African, Chinese and other communities
(although these did not come to the attention of our posts because
we believe all parties were in the UK). Victims came from all
communities, which between them observed most of the major faiths—all
of which condemn the practice of forced marriage.
14. The report sets out what the Government
and others have to do to help the victims of forced marriage and
stop the practice from continuing. It maps out a clear programme
of work required. We welcome the report both as a clear sign of
engagement and determination by Britain's minority communities
to tackle the problem, and as the road map for future work.
15. The bulk of the report focuses on domestic
concerns, and in particular on the role of parents, schools and
the communities. This is entirely appropriate. The root of the
problem, and therefore its solution, is in the UK.
16. But the overseas dimension is an integral
part of the problem. Many of the forced marriages occur overseas,
or involve a partner from overseas. The victims come from British
communities with close links to the Subcontinent. Both in tackling
the problem, and in helping the victims, the overseas link is
crucial.
C. THE FCO'S
ROLE
17. The FCO is determined to do everything
it can to help the victims of forced marriage. In a speech (attachment
1) in Leeds on 3 March 2000 Baroness Scotland set out the FCO's
broad strategy—working with the communities, being guided
by them, building a network of partners in the UK and overseas,
and constantly looking for creative ways to help victims.
18. In response to the Working Group's report,
the FCO is preparing a joint Action Plan with the Home Office
on tackling the overseas dimension of forced marriage. It sets
out an ambitious programme of activity and reform—from establishing
links between police forces in the UK and overseas to a more activist
stance on the dual nationality of many of the victims of forced
marriage.
19. Taken as whole, the Action Plan will
represent a major step change in the FCO's work to help the victims
of forced marriage. It will take at least two years to put in
place the full range of measure being considered, but many of
the reforms are already underway. A dedicated desk has been established
in the FCO's Consular Division to co-ordinate the programme of
activity, and a team set up bringing together expertise from all
the relevant parts of the FCO.
20. The FCO needs to work with many others—inside
and outside government—to provide the support that victims
of forced marriage need. That is why such a high priority is being
placed on the creation of a network of partners—within government;
within the communities in the UK; and overseas.
D. THE HIGH
COMMISSION IN
ISLAMABAD
21. Our High Commission in Islamabad already
does a great deal to help the victims of forced marriage. In the
past three months, its staff have successfully helped nine young
British nationals, including one man, to return to the UK against
the wishes of their own families. The nine included sisters who
had already been helped to the UK once before, making it considerably
harder the second time round.
22. The staff of the High Commission will
go to great lengths to assist those victims of forced marriage
that they hear about:
— as soon as they are contacted they
will try to establish precise location and whether there are any
friends or family willing to help;
— they will provide advice on the legal
options open to the victims under Pakistani law, and put them
in contact with local lawyers with relevant experience;
— if they can escape and travel safely,
they advise the victims to get to the High Commission, where they
can arrange safe houses, passports, and transfer of funds from
the UK for flight tickets;
— they will help the victims leave
Pakistan safely, by making secure arrangements at the airport,
including use of special channels to avoid the normal check-in
area;
— if the victims cannot escape, the
High Commission's staff will explore other options, including
liaison with Pakistani local authorities, human rights' organisations,
and lawyers to secure the victim's safe release or appearance
before a court; and
— the High Commission's staff will
often attend court hearings themselves, and talk to the suspected
victims in private to ascertain their true position and wishes.
23. In line with the new approach to forced
marriage set out by Baroness Scotland in her 3 March speech, the
High Commission has started to put in place a series of measures
so that it can do more to help the victims of forced marriage,
including:
— appointing a senior member of the
locally-engaged staff to work full time on forced marriage cases;
— investing of a great deal of time
in building a network of contacts, including with NGOs, senior
police chiefs, District Commissioners, the MFA and the Ministry
for Women's Development;
— securing agreement with the Ministry
of Interior on ways to help the victims of force marriage that
the High Commission cannot contact directly;
— liasing with other diplomatic missions
in Islamabad to share contacts, experience and best practice in
dealing with the issue; and
— contributing to the FCO/Home Office
joint Action Plan on forced marriage.
E. ENTRY CLEARANCE
AND FORCED
MARRIAGES
24. Many of the forced marriages that happen
overseas result in an application for a UK visa. The FCO and Home
Office are making every effort to ensure that the victims of forced
marriage are treated sensitively throughout the entry clearance
process. A series of practical measures is being prepared that
will improve the way these cases are handled.
25. But despite a great deal of effort and
imagination, no solution has yet been found to the central dilemma
forced marriages pose for the Entry Clearance Officers (ECOs),
Victims of forced marriage will often tell the ECOs exactly what
has happened. They will ask for their spouse's visa application
to be refused. Some threaten suicide if the visa is granted. But
in most cases they will not be prepared to say so publicly or
in front of their families. The fear of the repercussions of confronting
their families, and the shame that such a step would bring on
their families, ensure that most victims would rather suffer in
silence.
26. This makes it almost impossible for
the entry clearance officer to refuse the visa application. If
they do refuse the visa, then the refusal will normally be over-turned
on appeal. The adjudicators in these appeals need—under
the principles of natural justice—to state the reasons for
their decisions. If they decide to up hold a refusal, then they
need to declare why they have done so. And so if the victim is
not prepared for their position to be stated publicly, it leaves
the adjudicator little choice.
27. The problem is therefore not one of
knowing when an application for a settlement visa involves a forced
marriage, but of being able to use this information to reject
the visa in a way which does not put the victim's life in danger.
This is the reason why some of the apparently simple solutions
for forced marriage cases—such as insisting that every UK
sponsor is interviewed separately—would not actually solve
the problem.
28. The emphasis has been placed on providing
maximum support to the victims, so that they know that there is
help available should they choose to confront their families.
F. SPECIFIC ALLEGATIONS
MADE BY
THE NEWSNIGHT
PROGRAMME
29. The Newsnight report from Mirpur on
31 May, and the Independent article by Sue Lloyd-Roberts of the
same day, made a number of specific comments and allegations about
the British High Commission in Islamabad. To take each in turn:
The British Government should open a consular
office in Mirpur
30. The High Commission recognises that
it needs ways to help the victims of forced marriage held against
their will in Mirpur (although there are also many cases outside
Mirpur). It is aware that many of the victims cannot easily get
to Islamabad. Many cannot even get outside the house in which
they are being held. But it does not believe that opening an office
in Mirpur would solve this problem.
31. The High Commission believes it would
be a mistake to direct victims to an office in Mirpur. Recent
victims have told High Commission staff that the aim should instead
be to get victims out of Mirpur as fast as possible. If there
were such an office, it is likely that many of the victims would
be too scared to visit it:
— the office could become a target
for demonstrations by the vocal and sometimes violent supporters
of forced marriages;
— enormous pressure would be brought
to bear on locally engaged staff to reveal details of any victims
who found their way to the office; and
— families would know immediately where
to go to find victims of forced marriage who had escaped, making
both entry and exit from the office perilous. This could deter
victims from going to such an office.
32. In addition, there are political sensitivities
about opening a consular office in Mirpur because of the dispute
surrounding Kashmir as a whole. There would also be serious security
concerns for High Commission staff, in a country where security
is already a major issue.
33. Instead of opening a consular office,
the strategy has been to build up the High Commission's partners
and contacts in Mirpur—including human rights activists,
women's groups, lawyers and the local authorities. This will create
a network of support allowing the High Commission to help victims
more effectively. In addition, further regular visits by staff
will help raise the profile of the High Commission in the region,
and remind victims that they are a source of help.
Dual nationality is used as an excuse to avoid
helping the victims
34. Dual nationality is a fact of international
law, and the High Commission cannot unilaterally ignore it. Under
Pakistani law (which HMG and the High Commission has to respect)
British nationals of Pakistani descent are counted as Pakistani
nationals—whether they like it or not, and even whether
they know about it or not. This means that the High Commission
has no right to demand they be treated as British nationals in
Pakistan, or that they receive full consular rights under international
law.
35. But the FCO recognises that a more imaginative
approach to dual nationality might help to resolve the difficulty
this presents in helping victims of forced marriage. It is in
the process of writing clear revised internal guidance on dual
nationality, that make clear that helping dual nationals who are
the victims of forced marriage is not a secondary or informal
task, but a key and formal objective. The guidance will make clear
the legal limitations that dual nationality imposes on consular
work, but emphasise that the objective should be to do as much
as possible despite these limitations.
The case of Nazish
36. The Newsnight report included an interview
with Nazish—a female victim of forced marriage who says
that in mid-April 1999 a member of the High Commission's staff
put the telephone down on her when he found out she had a Pakistani
surname. As described, this would be completely unacceptable behaviour.
The High Commission is keen to take this matter further. But the
BBC have not been willing to pass on the Nazish's details, or
any further information about the incident, making a proper enquiry
impossible.
37. The High Commission is, however, confident,
that if such an incident did occur it was not with a member of
the consular section staff. They are all well aware of the sensitivity
of these cases, and trained to take the full details of any victims
that call. They would also have explained the difficulties that
dual nationality present, but not in a way that leaves the victim
feels no help is available. Staff will always advise victims to
make their way to the High Commission.
38. It is possible that the incident is
a result of the poor phone system in Pakistan. Lines get cut regularly,
and this would be even more likely if Nazish was ringing from
a public telephone. But whatever happened the incident is clearly
regrettable, and all staff have been reminded of the need for
care in dealing with phone enquiries from distressed callers.
The case of Koheema
39. The report also included the tragic
case of Koheema, who had been forced into marriage against her
will by her family to separate her from her legitimate husband
in the UK. Staff in both the FCO and at the High Commission were
surprised by the report's account of events, which almost entirely
neglected to mention the role they played in the case, and instead
played up the role of the BBC journalists. In particular:
— the report said "I...organised
a day for her to turn up at the High Commission". The process
of getting Koheema to the High Commission actually involved many
parties, and followed a long planning meeting in the FCO in London
at which the eventually successful strategy was suggested by a
member of the FCO's staff;
— our staff spent two hours with Koheema
when she came in to the High Commission, exploring with her all
the options, and giving her the chance to speak to her real husband
in the UK;
— following her appearance at the High
Commission, our staff were instrumental in saving Koheema from
a charge of bigamy, along with the West Yorkshire Police who used
senior contacts in the Pakistani police; and
— the High Commission have since kept
in close touch with Koheema and her family, and have monitored
her welfare closely. She has now returned to the UK with her family,
with considerable assistance from the consular staff at the High
Commission.
Interviewing all sponsors of settlement applications
would solve the problem
40. The majority of sponsors do not attend
their spouse's entry clearance interview because they are not
in the country. To insist that they be available for interview
is not a viable proposition. Where the sponsor does attend, and
it is suspected that they are the victims of a forced marriage,
they are interviewed separately. As explained in Section E of
this Memorandum, the problem is not one of knowing when a settlement
application involves a victim of forced marriage, but being able
to act on this information. The solution proposed in the Newsnight
report—interviewing each sponsor separately—would
not solve this problem.
The West Yorkshire Police did not raise the issue
when they visited
41. The West Yorkshire police have asked
the FCO to make clear that the issue of forced marriage was discussed
with the police in Mirpur. The Mirpur police did in fact agree
to assist in these cases—which is an impressive achievement,
given the level of local support for forced marriages and the
strong local feeling about "honour".
42. The FCO has used working links established
by the West Yorkshire Police on several occasions to good effect,
and values highly the trail-blazing work that the force has done
in forging contacts with their Pakistani counterparts. The FCO
will be working with the Police Service in Britain to set up a
wider programme of co-operation between British police forces
and their opposite numbers in the Subcontinent.
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