Dan Sohege
@danielsohege.bsky.social
Director of human rights consultancy Stand For All. Specialist in international refugee law, human rights policy, comms and advocacy. Also posting about being autistic and LGBTQIA+ rights. (They/them). My views, no-one else would want them.
Pinned
Dan Sohege
@danielsohege.bsky.social
· Dec 2
I may not be the most festive person going, but know it can be a tough time for many people. If you can help support organisations supporting others please do, and, if you need support, hopefully some organisations below can help.
This is far from comprehensive so please do add more at the end. 👇
This is far from comprehensive so please do add more at the end. 👇
I got a media request on Christmas day to talk about the "UK migration crisis".
I got a media request for New Year's day morning to discuss Shamima Begum.
Fine, okay, areas of my specialism.
Why the ever loving is any news organisation contacting me on the last day of my break to talk about Trump?
I got a media request for New Year's day morning to discuss Shamima Begum.
Fine, okay, areas of my specialism.
Why the ever loving is any news organisation contacting me on the last day of my break to talk about Trump?
January 4, 2026 at 6:03 PM
I got a media request on Christmas day to talk about the "UK migration crisis".
I got a media request for New Year's day morning to discuss Shamima Begum.
Fine, okay, areas of my specialism.
Why the ever loving is any news organisation contacting me on the last day of my break to talk about Trump?
I got a media request for New Year's day morning to discuss Shamima Begum.
Fine, okay, areas of my specialism.
Why the ever loving is any news organisation contacting me on the last day of my break to talk about Trump?
Reposted by Dan Sohege
Obviously this is mad. But the spurious precision of “23,000” is superb.
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
January 4, 2026 at 5:55 PM
Obviously this is mad. But the spurious precision of “23,000” is superb.
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
What we:ve already seen is increased discrimination and people policing toilets, and other spaces, based purely on how someone looks. That has fairly obvious consequences including for "biological women".
End of day, anti-trans/non-binary policies only cause harm
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01...
End of day, anti-trans/non-binary policies only cause harm
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01...
January 3, 2026 at 7:50 PM
What we:ve already seen is increased discrimination and people policing toilets, and other spaces, based purely on how someone looks. That has fairly obvious consequences including for "biological women".
End of day, anti-trans/non-binary policies only cause harm
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01...
End of day, anti-trans/non-binary policies only cause harm
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01...
Of course international diplomacy is complex and nuanced, and that becomes more complex when it is a close ally, but Trump saying US has effectively just taken control of a sovereign nation and UN planning a censure motion does mean Starmer needs to be firmer than shrugging and saying "wait and see"
January 3, 2026 at 5:10 PM
Of course international diplomacy is complex and nuanced, and that becomes more complex when it is a close ally, but Trump saying US has effectively just taken control of a sovereign nation and UN planning a censure motion does mean Starmer needs to be firmer than shrugging and saying "wait and see"
If anyone needs to sit out the debate on this one it is Russia.
January 3, 2026 at 1:12 PM
If anyone needs to sit out the debate on this one it is Russia.
Reposted by Dan Sohege
I'm old enough to remember a time when the president would at least have put some effort into lying to Congress first
January 3, 2026 at 12:51 PM
I'm old enough to remember a time when the president would at least have put some effort into lying to Congress first
Reposted by Dan Sohege
Kidnapping the leader of a foreign state without any declaration of war and announcing it via social media is full-on rogue state stuff. From the world’s number one superpower.
January 3, 2026 at 9:56 AM
Kidnapping the leader of a foreign state without any declaration of war and announcing it via social media is full-on rogue state stuff. From the world’s number one superpower.
I have spent a lot of time in recent years studying up on Venezuela in a variety of areas, because it has one of the largest refugee exodi in the world, mainly.
My professional standpoint on Trump launching attacks against it is that bombing a country is a piss poor way to stop people fleeing it.
My professional standpoint on Trump launching attacks against it is that bombing a country is a piss poor way to stop people fleeing it.
January 3, 2026 at 9:26 AM
I have spent a lot of time in recent years studying up on Venezuela in a variety of areas, because it has one of the largest refugee exodi in the world, mainly.
My professional standpoint on Trump launching attacks against it is that bombing a country is a piss poor way to stop people fleeing it.
My professional standpoint on Trump launching attacks against it is that bombing a country is a piss poor way to stop people fleeing it.
Reposted by Dan Sohege
Maduro has overseen the largest refugee crisis in Latin America, and at one point the second largest in the world.
That still does not allow Trump to launch military attacks against a sovereign nation.
If the benchmark was the leader was an inhumane arse then everyone would be invading America.
That still does not allow Trump to launch military attacks against a sovereign nation.
If the benchmark was the leader was an inhumane arse then everyone would be invading America.
Maduro is a brutal and oppressive dictator of Venezuela.
Trump has no legitimate legal basis for military action against Venezuela under United States or international law.
Both of those facts are simultaneously true.
Trump has no legitimate legal basis for military action against Venezuela under United States or international law.
Both of those facts are simultaneously true.
January 3, 2026 at 9:08 AM
Maduro has overseen the largest refugee crisis in Latin America, and at one point the second largest in the world.
That still does not allow Trump to launch military attacks against a sovereign nation.
If the benchmark was the leader was an inhumane arse then everyone would be invading America.
That still does not allow Trump to launch military attacks against a sovereign nation.
If the benchmark was the leader was an inhumane arse then everyone would be invading America.
Would have been nice to make it a week into 2026 without Trump starting a war in South America with Venezia, which btw will mean more people displaced and in need of asylum, while also threatening further conflict in the Middle East against Iran, which would also lead to more displacement. #r4today
January 3, 2026 at 8:59 AM
Would have been nice to make it a week into 2026 without Trump starting a war in South America with Venezia, which btw will mean more people displaced and in need of asylum, while also threatening further conflict in the Middle East against Iran, which would also lead to more displacement. #r4today
Now that's been a fun project for the holiday break
January 2, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Now that's been a fun project for the holiday break
There's already a severe lack of support for many children who need it. The last thing needed is stripping it back even further.
It's hardly a shocker considering Labour's continued attacks on disabled individuals in general, and especially neurodivergent individuals
www.thetimes.com/article/9641...
It's hardly a shocker considering Labour's continued attacks on disabled individuals in general, and especially neurodivergent individuals
www.thetimes.com/article/9641...
January 2, 2026 at 12:59 PM
There's already a severe lack of support for many children who need it. The last thing needed is stripping it back even further.
It's hardly a shocker considering Labour's continued attacks on disabled individuals in general, and especially neurodivergent individuals
www.thetimes.com/article/9641...
It's hardly a shocker considering Labour's continued attacks on disabled individuals in general, and especially neurodivergent individuals
www.thetimes.com/article/9641...
What is shameful is that people have to use irregular crossings in the first place and we have a government which is so hostile, discriminatory and inhumane towards those seeking safety. It isn't the people seeking asylum who are the issue here
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
‘Shameful’ 41,000 people reached UK by small boat last year, says Home Office
Second highest annual number of irregular arrivals on record reached British shores in 2025
www.theguardian.com
January 2, 2026 at 11:33 AM
What is shameful is that people have to use irregular crossings in the first place and we have a government which is so hostile, discriminatory and inhumane towards those seeking safety. It isn't the people seeking asylum who are the issue here
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Autistic object impermanence at this time of year is so weird. I entirely forget certain decorations exist until I see them out and then when putting them away it is like "no this has such emotional meaning it goes back to...".
January 1, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Autistic object impermanence at this time of year is so weird. I entirely forget certain decorations exist until I see them out and then when putting them away it is like "no this has such emotional meaning it goes back to...".
Mahmood will be pissed.
www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/...
www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/...
January 1, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Mahmood will be pissed.
www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/...
www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/...
Reposted by Dan Sohege
If you were personally not racist but you ran a party that contained this level of racism, you'd resign on the basis you had somehow ended up organising racists into a serious campaigning force, which had never been your intention.
On the other hand, if you *are* a racist...
On the other hand, if you *are* a racist...
"More than a third (37%) of Reform UK voters said they would be prouder of Britain if there were fewer people from minority ethnic backgrounds in a decade’s time, and 10% [compared to 3% overall] said it was important to have white skin to be a good British citizen."
Number of people who say Britons must be born in UK is rising, study shows
Exclusive: Research finds ‘worrying’ surge in support for hard-right narratives on national identity
www.theguardian.com
December 30, 2025 at 6:26 PM
If you were personally not racist but you ran a party that contained this level of racism, you'd resign on the basis you had somehow ended up organising racists into a serious campaigning force, which had never been your intention.
On the other hand, if you *are* a racist...
On the other hand, if you *are* a racist...
There was also an increase in "push factors" and a reduction in safer alternatives, with Labour cutting key existing routes, so it is hardly a suprise. Labour learned nothing from the previous government, harsher asylum policies increase the use of irregular routes. 1/
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Channel migrant crossings for 2025 highest in three years
The 2025 total is the highest since 2022, when nearly 46,000 migrants made the crossing.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 1, 2026 at 10:23 AM
There was also an increase in "push factors" and a reduction in safer alternatives, with Labour cutting key existing routes, so it is hardly a suprise. Labour learned nothing from the previous government, harsher asylum policies increase the use of irregular routes. 1/
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Begum may be 'distasteful', but it is pretty clear she was a victim of grooming and trafficking. The decision to make her defacto stateless is also clearly incompatibile with the principles of international law. Labour doubling down doesn't change that it is bad. 1/2
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Shamima Begum: Home secretary to 'robustly defend' citizenship decision
The ECHR questions whether it was considered if Shamima Begum was a victim of grooming and trafficking.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 1, 2026 at 10:07 AM
Begum may be 'distasteful', but it is pretty clear she was a victim of grooming and trafficking. The decision to make her defacto stateless is also clearly incompatibile with the principles of international law. Labour doubling down doesn't change that it is bad. 1/2
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Now this is a New Year's Eve party I could get behind
BBC News - Seeing in the new year with dinner in a dinosaur
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
BBC News - Seeing in the new year with dinner in a dinosaur
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
When 21 men saw in the new year by dining in a dinosaur
Guests braved the cold of December 1853 to have dinner inside a concrete mould of a dinosaur in a warehouse.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 1, 2026 at 9:49 AM
Now this is a New Year's Eve party I could get behind
BBC News - Seeing in the new year with dinner in a dinosaur
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
BBC News - Seeing in the new year with dinner in a dinosaur
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Dan Sohege
Happy home-office-assigned birthday to all refugees who were disbelieved about their date of birth and un-safeguarded as one of the many experiences of state-sponsored xenophobic cruelty that is the asylum system in the U.K.
Let’s keep working for a just, restorative and eminently sensible system.
Let’s keep working for a just, restorative and eminently sensible system.
January 1, 2026 at 9:40 AM
Happy home-office-assigned birthday to all refugees who were disbelieved about their date of birth and un-safeguarded as one of the many experiences of state-sponsored xenophobic cruelty that is the asylum system in the U.K.
Let’s keep working for a just, restorative and eminently sensible system.
Let’s keep working for a just, restorative and eminently sensible system.
Happy new year all
If you know you know
If you know you know
January 1, 2026 at 12:12 AM
Happy new year all
If you know you know
If you know you know
Safe to say 2025 was a fairly shit year, here's hoping that 2026 at least has the ability to not buy us all a meal first.
December 31, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Safe to say 2025 was a fairly shit year, here's hoping that 2026 at least has the ability to not buy us all a meal first.
I am waaay too tired to make predictions for 2026 beyond "Can I opt out"
December 28, 2025 at 7:57 PM
I am waaay too tired to make predictions for 2026 beyond "Can I opt out"
Reposted by Dan Sohege
Workout of the beast
December 28, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Workout of the beast