Sangatte: Economic migrants or fleeing persecution?

Government attempts to cut the number of asylum seekers should focus on problems such as war and repression, according to a leading think tank.

A report published by the influential Institute for Public Policy Research on Tuesday concluded that human rights abuses drive more people to seek asylum in the UK than poverty.

The report's authors said rather than just tightening border controls more attention should be paid to the underlying factors that force people to leave their countries of origin.

Calling for a coordinated Europe-wide response, the IPPR said that the number of people fleeing recent wars and repression in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq pointed to the issues that ministers should address.

"There is an urgent need for 'joined up' policy making in which all relevant directorates-general of the European Commission and all the member state governments work together to achieve agreed objectives in addressing the root causes of forced migration," said the report.

The IPPR's Heaven Crawley said the recent situation in the Gulf indicated that the majority of asylum seekers are driven by conflict and repression.

"We know that the Iraqi people have suffered from massive violations of their human rights and the government has highlighted the experiences of Iraqi exiles in its decision to go to war.

"Yet over the last three years the vast majority of Iraqi asylum seekers have been refused refugee status and have therefore been viewed by the public as making unfounded claims for protection," said Crawley.

"The research also indicates that it is important to wait until conditions are stable in countries of origin before repatriation begins in order to ensure that the return of asylum seekers is sustainable and does not undermine the process of reconstruction"

Immigration minister Beverley Hughes said the report was a "useful part of the discussions" on asylum.

"Britain has a long history of offering a safe haven to people fleeing persecution but the vast majority of people who claim asylum in Britain do not have a valid claim for refugee status and this is backed up by independent adjudicators," she said.

"We are aiming for a system where migrants come through legal channels, rather than arriving illegally, often having paid criminal organisations many thousands of dollars.

"It is vital that people have confidence in the system and that is why we have introduced the radical reforms in the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act, to ensure we have a credible system for handling asylum claims."

She accepted that short term measures to tackle illegal migration should be supported by a longer-term strategy to address the root causes of migration.

"Action in other regions of the world is part of the solution to forced migration and we want to offer refugees protection near to their countries of origin by making it more accessible and reducing their need to flee further afield."