Latest news with #FreeMovement
Zawya
09-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) deepens engagement with community citizens to advance implementation of free movement protocol across West Africa
In a renewed effort to enhance free movement of persons and goods and strengthen regional integration and trade across West Africa, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Commission) is intensifying collaboration with Community citizens and key stakeholders to advance the effective implementation of the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Goods, and Services. As part of this initiative, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, His Excellency Dr. Omar Alieu TOURAY, undertook a working visit to the Nigeria–Benin (Lagos/Seme) Border on Wednesday, 7 May 2025. The visit aimed to assess the state of implementation of the ECOWAS Free Movement Protocol and to engage directly with border officials, national authorities, and Community citizens. During the visit, H.E. Dr. TOURAY held consultations with representatives of the governments of Nigeria and Benin, as well as other critical stakeholders to explore ways of improving operational efficiency and removing barriers to the seamless movement of people and goods along the Lagos-Seme corridor—one of the busiest border crossings in the region. Dr. TOURAY was accompanied by Ambassador Musa.S. NUHU, Permanent Representative of Nigeria to ECOWAS; Mr. Albert SIAW-BOATENG, Director of Free Movement at the ECOWAS Commission; Mr. Abdou KOLLEY, Director of Cabinet in the Office of the ECOWAS President; and other senior Commission staff. The delegation visited the Seme-Krake Joint Border Post to inspect the functionality of infrastructure provided by ECOWAS and to interact with Nigerian and Beninois customs and immigration personnel. Speaking during the visit, Dr. TOURAY emphasized the importance of first-hand assessments in understanding the challenges on the ground. According to Dr. TOURAY, ' This visit is important to ECOWAS in many ways. It has enabled us to see how the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement is being implemented at this very important corridor which is the busiest in the region. What happens here tells us a lot about the ECOWAS Free Movement Protocol. The challenges we are facing here can be resolved to enable us to replicate what works well here elsewhere.' ' Before arriving at this Joint Border Post, I had the opportunity to interact with Community citizens including transporters, road corridor users and security officials. We have listened carefully to them because the aim of this mission is to listen to them and report back to our authorities with strong recommendations that will work in favour of our Community citizens. It is a pleasure to see this Joint Border Post. It is a structure that has a lot of potential. But it is at the same time disappointing to see that some facilities that cost us a lot of money are not working.' He added, 'We can't continue to have expensive infrastructure of this nature and not having them work. This visit has enabled us to really have a good idea of how things are so that we can address the challenges because I don't think that our Community will forgive us for having infrastructure in place that should be working at an optimal level, but it is not working. We will dig into this to see how we can make it work.' Reaffirming the ECOWAS Commission's commitment to removing operational bottlenecks, Dr. TOURAY called on citizens to uphold their responsibilities by traveling with proper identification. ' I want to use this opportunity to also appeal to our Community citizens to always bear in mind that free movement does not mean no documentation. The appropriate identification papers, security checks, and customs procedures remain necessary to balance openness with safety and order. Our people must understand that they need valid identification to travel. Security and freedom must go hand in hand,' Dr. TOURAY said. In his remarks, Nigeria's Permanent Representative to ECOWAS, Ambassador Musa S. NUHU praised the ECOWAS President for undertaking the on-the-ground visit and highlighted Nigeria's efforts to improve compliance with the ECOWAS Protocol. He noted that the Nigerian government has established a Presidential Task Force to dismantle illegal checkpoints along the corridor to facilitate smoother cross-border movement. In an interactive session with Dr. TOURAY, Nigerian and Beninois customs and immigration officials at the Joint Border Post commended the visit and appealed for ECOWAS support in repairing key infrastructure—including scanners, weighbridges, electricity supply systems, and water facilities. They expressed confidence that the President's visit would lead to enhanced infrastructure and more efficient border operations. The ECOWAS Commission continues to prioritize initiatives that enhance trade, mobility, and security, thereby fostering deeper integration and improved livelihoods for all Community citizens across the West African region. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Telegraph
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Immigration judge wrote for pro-open borders website
An immigration judge behind a string of controversial rulings has written dozens of articles for a pro-open borders website. Judge Sarah Pinder, whose decisions at tribunals have sparked a backlash in recent weeks, previously wrote for Free Movement, an online publication, and described detention centres as 'truly abhorrent'. The site was founded by Colin Yeo, a barrister specialising in asylum cases, who has been critical of government efforts to curb illegal immigration. Judge Pinder has made controversial rulings including allowing a Zimbabwean paedophile to stay in Britain because he would face 'hostility' back in his home country. She was also one of two judges to declare that a Sudanese asylum seeker was a child despite the Home Office saying he was at least 23 with a receding hairline. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said: 'Judges are trusted to park their political beliefs at the door. But when a judge's open borders political views seamlessly overlap with their expansionist judicial decisions, it's hard to escape the conclusion that they have been compromised. 'The framers of the ECHR [European Convention on Human Rights] could hardly have anticipated the breadth with which it has since been interpreted by some judges. It destroys public confidence in our immigration and criminal justice systems.' Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, said Judge Pinder 'should resign or be fired', adding: 'Sarah Pinder is clearly not fit to be an immigration judge. 'She simply does not agree with the concept of detention, deterrence and strong borders. The vast majority of British people do not want these people to put our safety at risk. She should resign or be fired.' The articles date from 2011 to 2022, with the last piece published three years after Judge Pinder's appointment to the first-tier tribunal as a part-time immigration judge in 2019. She was later appointed to the upper tribunal, which reviews first-tier decisions, in 2024. Before her career as a full-time judge, she was an immigration barrister at Goldsmith Chambers. Judge Pinder appears to have recently deleted her social media profiles, with her LinkedIn and X accounts closed within the past month. Her more recent articles for Free Movement looked at concessions for Afghan citizens on study and work routes in the UK and the process of reopening a finalised immigration appeal. In 2011, she described government detention centres as 'truly abhorrent' following the deaths of three detainees. She also criticised the Metropolitan Police and Sir Mark Rowley, now the force's commissioner, over an operation targeting foreign offenders in 2013, describing the social and cultural ramifications as 'incredibly worrying'. Greg Smith, the Tory MP for Mid Buckinghamshire, said: 'The public expect our judiciary to be independent, not peddling their own agenda. There is no excuse for judicial activism, and any identified activism like this must be stamped out.' It comes after a string of immigration rulings exposed by The Telegraph where migrants or convicted foreign criminals have secured the right to remain in the UK or avoided deportation in controversial circumstances. Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, has criticised a decision by a different judge to allow a Palestinian family to live in the UK after they applied through a scheme for Ukrainian refugees. Judge Pinder's decision to block the deportation of a convicted Zimbabwean paedophile on the basis he was likely to face 'substantial hostility' in his home country was criticised by Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary. She previously ruled that a Jamaican drug dealer should be spared deportation after being told he had a transgender child. Together with Judge Hugo Norton-Taylor, she also quashed a council's verdict that a Sudanese migrant was an adult, rather than 16 years old as he had claimed. Mr Yeo, the founder of Free Movement, recently warned that Labour's new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill 'won't work' if it is intended to stop or even cut down on small boat crossings. In a piece for the website, he wrote: 'Prosecuting people smugglers who never set foot on British soil is impossible, and more would spring up to meet demand anyway. 'Even if people are sent to prison, it seems highly unlikely that would deter anyone else from trying the same thing in future. It's punishment without deterrence or rehabilitation. 'If its purpose is political, to show that the Government is doing something, that won't work either. Passing new laws makes it sound like you're doing something but of itself has no real world impact. It increases expectations while doing nothing to sate them.' A spokesman for the judiciary said: 'Judicial independence and impartiality are fundamental to the rule of law. 'Upon taking office, judges take the judicial oath where they swear to act 'without fear or favour, affection or ill will'. 'In each case, judges make decisions based on the evidence and arguments presented to them and apply the law as it stands.'
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Immigration judge wrote for pro-open borders website
An immigration judge behind a string of controversial rulings has written dozens of articles for a pro-open borders website. Judge Sarah Pinder, whose decisions at tribunals have sparked a backlash in recent weeks, previously wrote for Free Movement, an online publication, and described detention centres as 'truly abhorrent'. The site was founded by Colin Yeo, a barrister specialising in asylum cases, who has been critical of government efforts to curb illegal immigration. Judge Pinder has made controversial rulings including allowing a Zimbabwean paedophile to stay in Britain because he would face 'hostility' back in his home country. She was also one of two judges to declare that a Sudanese asylum seeker was a child despite the Home Office saying he was at least 23 with a receding hairline. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said: 'Judges are trusted to park their political beliefs at the door. But when a judge's open borders political views seamlessly overlap with their expansionist judicial decisions, it's hard to escape the conclusion that they have been compromised. 'The framers of the ECHR [European Convention on Human Rights] could hardly have anticipated the breadth with which it has since been interpreted by some judges. It destroys public confidence in our immigration and criminal justice systems.' Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, said Judge Pinder 'should resign or be fired', adding: 'Sarah Pinder is clearly not fit to be an immigration judge. 'She simply does not agree with the concept of detention, deterrence and strong borders. The vast majority of British people do not want these people to put our safety at risk. She should resign or be fired.' The articles date from 2011 to 2022, with the last piece published three years after Judge Pinder's appointment to the first-tier tribunal as a part-time immigration judge in 2019. She was later appointed to the upper tribunal, which reviews first-tier decisions, in 2024. Before her career as a full-time judge, she was an immigration barrister at Goldsmith Chambers. Judge Pinder appears to have recently deleted her social media profiles, with her LinkedIn and X accounts closed within the past month. Her more recent articles for Free Movement looked at concessions for Afghan citizens on study and work routes in the UK and the process of reopening a finalised immigration appeal. In 2011, she described government detention centres as 'truly abhorrent' following the deaths of three detainees. She also criticised the Metropolitan Police and Sir Mark Rowley, now the force's commissioner, over an operation targeting foreign offenders in 2013, describing the social and cultural ramifications as 'incredibly worrying'. Greg Smith, the Tory MP for Mid Buckinghamshire, said: 'The public expect our judiciary to be independent, not peddling their own agenda. There is no excuse for judicial activism, and any identified activism like this must be stamped out.' It comes after a string of immigration rulings exposed by The Telegraph where migrants or convicted foreign criminals have secured the right to remain in the UK or avoided deportation in controversial circumstances. Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, has criticised a decision by a different judge to allow a Palestinian family to live in the UK after they applied through a scheme for Ukrainian refugees. Judge Pinder's decision to block the deportation of a convicted Zimbabwean paedophile on the basis he was likely to face 'substantial hostility' in his home country was criticised by Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary. She previously ruled that a Jamaican drug dealer should be spared deportation after being told he had a transgender child. Together with Judge Hugo Norton-Taylor, she also quashed a council's verdict that a Sudanese migrant was an adult, rather than 16 years old as he had claimed. Mr Yeo, the founder of Free Movement, recently warned that Labour's new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill 'won't work' if it is intended to stop or even cut down on small boat crossings. In a piece for the website, he wrote: 'Prosecuting people smugglers who never set foot on British soil is impossible, and more would spring up to meet demand anyway. 'Even if people are sent to prison, it seems highly unlikely that would deter anyone else from trying the same thing in future. It's punishment without deterrence or rehabilitation. 'If its purpose is political, to show that the Government is doing something, that won't work either. Passing new laws makes it sound like you're doing something but of itself has no real world impact. It increases expectations while doing nothing to sate them.' A spokesman for the judiciary said: 'Judicial independence and impartiality are fundamental to the rule of law. 'Upon taking office, judges take the judicial oath where they swear to act 'without fear or favour, affection or ill will'. 'In each case, judges make decisions based on the evidence and arguments presented to them and apply the law as it stands.' Judge Pinder and Free Movement have been approached for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
