Draft legislation: London’s radical asylum plans | tagesschau.de

With the new law, the UK government wants to reduce the number of refugees in the country. However, these plans undermine the international right to asylum. So the opposition of human rights activists is already taken into account.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman tried to keep her tone calm as she tabled her bill to tighten asylum laws in the House of Commons: “Since 2018, around 85,000 people have entered the UK illegally on small boats. All have gone to a number of safe countries where they can seek and apply for asylum.” said the Conservative Tory politician.

Reducing the number of refugees crossing the English Channel in rubber boats is one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s key initiatives. The Conservative government is keen to deliver on this point – after all, one of the fundamental promises of Brexit is that the British will be able to control their borders again. Daily is showing them that the English channel situation is not like that now.

Braverman: “Here They Come”

Braverman said the new bill would prevent tens of thousands of people from coming to the UK. However, the minister, who is far to the right politically, then added a number that indicated a completely different scale:

Deportation first, then asylum application

In fact, the number of people traveling on boats is increasing. However, last year, it was almost 46,000 – a far cry from the seven-figure threshold.

The new draft law specifically provides for the deportation of all refugees who entered the country illegally. Victims are detained without judicial review and then sent to their home country or to a third country, such as Rwanda, countries with which Great Britain has an appropriate treaty. They should have the right to seek asylum only after deportation. The British government knows its job is delicate. Interior Secretary Braverman has previously acknowledged that her plans push international law to the limit, but she doesn’t want to let that stop her.

Plans end up in court

In his speech to the House of Commons, he also mentioned last year when the European Court of Human Rights blocked the first deportation flight to Rwanda at the last minute. The British government no longer wants to accept something like this: “Our ability to control our borders cannot be hindered by an opaque, night-time process where there is no opportunity to present arguments or appeal against decisions,” Braverman said.

The government expects to challenge its asylum policy in court. In fact, government programs may even violate the European Convention on Human Rights. Opposition Leader Keir Starmer doubts the deal will stand up legally, and the UK Refugee Council has cited the UK’s obligation under the Geneva Convention on Refugees to give people a fair trial, regardless of their route of arrival.