The government’s small boats bill had key parts of it shredded by the House of Lords on Monday, as peers voted on a series of topics, including how long children should be detained and deportation destinations.
The Illegal Migration Bill is aimed at decreasing the number of migrants that enter the UK. Under the bill, asylum claims can be revoked if refugees arrive in the UK through unauthorised means, such as crossing the Channel by boat.
On Monday, however, the House of Lords voted to limit the detainment time for children and pregnant women who claim asylum after arriving by irregular means and also backed preventing LGBTQ+ people from being deported to a country where they could face persecution, The Guardian reported.
The Lords also voted to back a move to retain a 72-hour limit on the detention of pregnant women who cross the Channel on small boats or other irregular routes.
On 28 June, the bill underwent changes when the House of Lords voted on four amendments, including a clause that makes asylum and human rights claims admissible from unaccompanied children and a clause that ensures provisions of the bill should be interpreted consistently with the UK’s obligations under relevant international human rights treaties.
In June, the cross-party Joint Committee on Human Rights published a report on the Illegal Migration Bill.
In its inquiry, the committee wrote that some of the evidence it received not only showed that the bill was “not the right approach” but would “ultimately lead to the UK failing to play its part in the global system of refugee protection that relies on international cooperation and responsibility sharing.”
(Sofia Stuart Leeson| EURACTIV.com)
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