The UK government’s controversial Illegal Migration Bill, which aims to prevent migrants from arriving at British shores in small boats, has passed its final parliamentary hurdle despite criticism from the United Nations. The bill blocks access to asylum in Britain who arrives irregularly.
The UK government’s controversial plans to stop the thousands of migrants arriving at British shores in small boats on Tuesday cleared their last parliamentary hurdle.
Britain’s Illegal Migration Bill, aimed at stopping thousands of migrants arriving in the country, is at odds with London’s obligations under international law, the United Nations said Tuesday.
In a joint statement, they said the bill blocks access to asylum in Britain for anyone who arrives irregularly, having passed through a country, however briefly, where they did not face persecution.
The UN human rights chief Volker Turk and the UN refugees head Filippo Grandi said the bill bars people from presenting refugee protection claims, whatever their circumstances, and creates sweeping new detention powers with limited judicial oversight.
The 1951 Refugee Convention explicitly recognizes that refugees may be compelled to enter a country of asylum irregularly, the pair noted.
The unelected upper house members defeated a string of challenges to the government’s Illegal Migration Bill, central to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats,” at a late-night sitting.
Members had proposed amendments relating to modern slavery protections and limits on how long child migrants can be detained but were voted down in a series of votes.
The bill, which will mean anyone arriving by boat will be refused the right to apply for asylum in the UK, will now become law following the formality of “royal assent” from King Charles III.
The legislation includes measures to transfer all irregular arrivals to “safe” third countries such as Rwanda to provide a deterrent against illegal migration.
More than 45,000 migrants arrived on the shores of southeast England on small boats in 2022, a 60-percent annual increase on a dangerous route that has been used by more people every year since 2018.
The UK government last month said it would appeal a judgment by three Court of Appeal judges who ruled that Rwanda could not be considered a safe third country.
To date, no deportation flights to Rwanda have taken place.
Miroslava Salazar with AFP
