#UnlockTheDebate – Take part in the ‘alternative’ debate from 1st September to 10th September

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<<< Read the storify of the debate here. >>>

You can see all the video clips we collected here

We produced several blogs about the debate – you can read them all here.

Shining a light on our most hidden human rights scandal 

Experiencing democracy up-close and personal

Not one dissenting voice… apart from James Brokenshire

Detention debate in Parliament

You can also read two think pieces we published before the debate here.

Is Shaw Review cure to all the ills of immigration detention?

Indefinite detention? We are in the world of Kafka

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Following the publication of the detention inquiry report in March 2015, many of us have been urging politicians to listen to the recommendations the report. Now, there is going be a full debate in Parliament on 10 September. You can read about its background here.  Here’s the briefing paper that we prepared for MPs, which you might want to read as well.

Most importantly, we do not want this parliamentary debate to be just another isolated incident. We want it to be part of a bigger story of change, which began with the parliamentary detention inquiry last year.

So we will be hosting #UnlockTheDebate, an ‘alternative’ on-line debate on the detention inquiry report recommendations from 1st September to 10th September.  Don’t worry you are not an MP – your voice counts as much as theirs.

Right to Remain’s very useful ‘how to’ guide here.  Also read Detention Action’s piece on #UnlocktheDebate here.

•Have you been detained and want to take part in this alternative debate? Or are you supporting people in detention? If you are happy for us to share their voice via social media, let us know. Or tweet with the hashtag #UnlockTheDebate
•Have your say! During their national conference on 5th September, Right to Remain is planning to collect short video clips of individuals answering the question ‘What would YOU say in the debate next week?’. The short clips will be shared on the Detention Forum website before the debate. If you want to take part in this, but are not attending the Right to Remain conference, please contact us – we will see what we can do.
•Take part in a tweet-along-commentary! Some of us will be live tweeting during the debate, which will start around 11:15am – 11:30am on 10 September. If you are planning to join in the tweet-along-commentary session, please let us know so that we can tell you who else will be doing live-tweeting. We hope to storify this afterwards.
•Shape the debate! Some of the Co-ordination Group members will be writing short blog pieces during the ‘alternative’ debate to address key issues that are pertinent to this Parliamentary debate. For example, why is an overall reform is necessary now, and what does it mean for civil society organisations? Is it correct for the Government to keep on insisting that the Shaw Review is the answer to the detention inquiry recommendations? Is the government correct to say that there is no such thing as indefinite detention in the UK because of Hardial Singh principle? Maybe you are writing something yourself? Let us know.