The UN refugee and human rights agencies, UNHCR and OHCHR have warned that the UK’s new immigration law violates international law and will have consequences for people in need of protection.
The law, titled the Illegal Immigration Bill, which was passed by the House of Commons on Monday, extinguishes access to asylum in the UK for anyone who arrives irregularly, having passed through a country – however briefly – where they did not face persecution.
It bars them from presenting refugee protection or other human rights claims, no matter how compelling their circumstances. In addition, it requires their removal to another country, with no guarantee that they will necessarily be able to access protection there. It creates sweeping new detention powers, with limited judicial oversight.
“For decades, the UK has provided refuge to those in need, in line with its international obligations – a tradition of which it has been rightly proud,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. “This new legislation significantly erodes the legal framework that has protected so many, exposing refugees to grave risks in breach of international law.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said that the Bill “sets a worrying precedent for dismantling asylum-related obligations that other countries, including in Europe, may be tempted to follow, with a potentially adverse effect on the international refugee and human rights protection system as a whole.”
The Bill denies access to protection in the UK for anyone falling within its scope – including unaccompanied and separated children – regardless of whether they are at risk of persecution, may have suffered human rights violations or whether they are survivors of human trafficking or modern-day slavery and may have other well-founded claims under international human rights and humanitarian law.
“Carrying out removals under these circumstances is contrary to prohibitions of refoulement and collective expulsions, rights to due process, to family and private life, and the principle of best interests of children concerned,” said Türk.
Afghanistan has the highest number of refugees in the world, many of whom will be impacted by the new law.
Most people fleeing war and persecution either do not have or are unable to access formal documents such as passports and visas. Safe and “legal” routes are rarely available to them. The 1951 Refugee Convention, for its part, explicitly recognizes that refugees may be compelled to enter a country of asylum irregularly.
In the absence of viable removal arrangements with third countries, or without adequate operational capacity to remove large numbers of asylum-seekers, thousands can be expected to remain in the UK indefinitely in precarious legal situations.
