According to a new deal put forward by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, British border officials will be stationed at the Albanian border and a new taskforce of 400 specialists will be set up to process Albanian asylum claims, news that elicited a sharp reaction from Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Up to 14,000 Albanians are said to have travelled to the UK in an irregular way in 2022, with thousands seeking asylum, causing a media storm during the summer and in late October.
“The solution shouldn’t just be what works, but what is right,” said Sunak. “It is unfair people come here illegally. Enough is enough.”
He also said a third of those arriving in the UK to seek asylum are from Albania, adding it is a safe and prosperous country and those stating they are victims of modern slavery must be able to provide evidence.
This, and other changes, he said would lead to the “vast majority” of claims from Albanians being declared unfounded.
The plan comprises five points which include the interception of small ships using the military, intelligence and civilian forces, banning illegal immigrants from opening bank accounts, accommodation of asylum seekers in dormitories and military warehouses, an increased burden of proof on those wanting to claim asylum, and laws to ban those arriving “illegally” from filing asylum applications.
The last point is potentially contentious under international law as the method of entering a country becomes irrelevant once seeking asylum. Refugee organisations have also sounded the alarm that it could impact those with valid claims.
Detention Action said in October that: “Instead of adding to this mess, [Home Secretary Suella] Braverman should create safe routes for refugees to reach the UK, including by claiming asylum here, process people’s asylum claims, so they can begin rebuilding their lives in our communities, and end the cruelty of indefinite detention.”
“This Government’s refusal to provide people with safe, stable, efficient routes to seek safety in the UK has exposed even more men, women and children to the risk of exploitation and a dangerous Channel crossing,” the group said in a statement.
Sunak said the legislation would be introduced early next year and means that people who do not come to the country through legal and safe routes “will be detained and swiftly returned either to [their] home country or a safe country where [their] asylum claim will be considered”.
Amnesty International UK said Sunak’s statement shows that “he either doesn’t have a clue or frankly does not care”.
“The announcement today is littered with errors of both law and fact, and if acted upon will make an already disastrous situation created by Sunak’s government’s policies more harmful to people fleeing conflict and persecution while continuing to profit smugglers, traffickers and other abusers,” Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty’s refugee and migrants rights director said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Rama told Albanian media that he has repeatedly offered to collaborate with the British government on the matter by setting up a special team, like they have with other countries.
“This is a request of mine since when Boris Johnson was foreign minister and I have repeated it over and over again because how many times have they come and shared this concern with us I have been consistent in the same. If you have a problem and want our help because we have been elected to govern Albania and not Great Britain, we are ready to set up a special team with you as we have done with other countries,” said Rama.
He also took a swipe at the government’s singling out of Albanians.
“Do not talk about an Albanian crime, a crime is a crime and has no ethnicity.”
(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)
Source: euractiv.com
