Conversation and discussion at Belfast Exposed Gallery of Photography

national | racism & migration related issues | event notice Friday November 16, 2007 17:31 by Rachael Wilson - Belfast Exposed Photography info at belfastexposed dot org 23 Donegall Street Belfast BT1 2FF 02890230965

Taking Liberties? Immigration policy and the law: Tuesday December 11 at 7'00 pm

Official policy around race and immigration is becoming increasingly ambiguous. While government agencies like the Equality Commission remain committed to a vision of society where difference is respected and valued, the security services are ‘cracking down’ on ‘bogus’ asylum seekers and ‘illegal immigrants’ using a complex array of legal and regulatory measures, including the proliferation of administrative detention and compulsory dispersal.
Belfast Exposed is currently showing Melanie Friend’s Border Country, which documents the physical structures of UK Immigrant Removal Centres alongside the voices of detainees. As further context to the exhibition, Belfast Exposed is pleased to welcome human rights lawyer John Fitzpatrick to the gallery to talk about his practice defending immigration detainees and to discuss the rights and wrongs of immigration law with the audience.

Join us in the Belfast Exposed gallery, Tuesday 11 December at 7pm for a conversation around questions of immigration policy and the law. There will be a wine reception.

John Fitzpatrick is senior lecturer in Law at the University of Kent in Canterbury, where he teaches human rights law and legal process. The Kent Law Clinic provides students with a first class legal education alongside a free legal service to its clients, with all the legal work being done by law students under the supervision of qualified lawyers. In 1998 the Clinic was the joint winner of The Times/Justice award for an “outstanding contribution to Civil Justice”. In 2004 the Clinic won two of the six awards at the Solicitors Pro Bono Group “Attorney General’s Awards” for pro bono legal work.

Belfast Exposed thanks the Community Relations Council and Belfast City Council, Good Relations unit for their generous support.