Table of Contents

Research Question, Methodology, and Summary of Findings * Rights and Social Change * Asylum in the Wider Context * Asylum and Welfare Benefits: A Review * The Campaign Against Section 55 * The Human Rights Act and the First Test-Case Challenge to Section 55 * The Continuing Campaign Against Section 55 * The End of Section 55 * Conclusion: Asylum and a Culture of Rights? * Appendix: Survey Questionnaire * Bibliography

About the Author

Dr Sharma, formerly an ajudicator at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, holds graduate degrees from Oxford and Cambridge with a keen interest in human rights, asylum rights, social movements, courts and social change - in particular, the role of rights in bringing about social change and rights as a resource in the work of NGOs which advocate on behalf of powerless constituents. Previously published works include the book - Aboriginal Fishing Rights: Law, Courts, Politics. Dr Sharma has also published in the Guardian, Globe and Mail, and general interest magazines. His most recent work includes a commissioned chapter on immigration law in the 2006 edition of 'The Newcomers Guide' published by the Centre for Economics and Social Inclusion (London).