Migrants who come to the UK via irregular means will not be able to stay, said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is expected to unveil a new bill Tuesday, which, if adopted, would prevent anyone arriving on a small boat from claiming asylum.
“Make no mistake, if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay,” Sunak told The Mail on Sunday.
Currently, anyone arriving in the UK has the right to seek protection under the UN’s Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), regardless of how they enter.
But a clause in the Illegal Migration Bill is expected to apply a “rights brake” to effectively allow the conventions to be circumvented, which, The Mail reports, will “finally signal an end to controversial legal challenges.”
The Refugee Council has accused ministers of shattering the UK’s commitment under the UN Convention, which expects the country to give people a fair hearing regardless of how they arrived.
The “flawed” legislation would not stop boats from arriving but, instead, would result in tens of thousands of people locked up and treated as criminals for seeking refuge, said Refugee Council CEO Enver Solomon, the BBC reported.
“It’s unworkable, costly and won’t stop the boats,” he added.
(Sofia Stuart Leeson | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
