March 29, 2024

New British asylum law pushes the limits of international law

Home Secretary Braverman and Prime Minister Sunak will today unveil plans to further tighten asylum laws. There are new plans to make it almost impossible for immigrants who enter the country illegally to apply for asylum. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/TPA Keystone/PA Wire/Gareth Fuller sda-ats

This content was published on March 07, 2023 – 02:49 pm
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(Keystone SDA)

By systematically tightening asylum laws, the British government wants to push the limits of international law.

“Boats bringing tens of thousands of people to our shores will be stopped,” British Home Secretary Suella Braverman said as she introduced the new law in London’s House of Commons on Tuesday. “We pushed the limits of international law to resolve this crisis,” he previously admitted to the Telegraph.

To be sure, almost all illegal immigrants are housed in shelters such as military bases or student dormitories and then deported to Rwanda or other countries. The right to seek asylum should be taken away from them.

“Enough is enough,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wrote in a guest column in The Sun newspaper. “This legislation will send a clear signal that anyone who enters this country illegally will be deported.” In fact, with few exceptions, people fleeing to Britain have no legal means of entry into the country. According to The Times, the government should expect the plan to end up in court, the newspaper said, citing government sources.

Great Britain has already signed a controversial agreement with Rwanda and paid the country £140 million (currently around €156 million) for it. Migrants must apply for asylum in Rwanda and – if granted – live there. A return to Great Britain is not planned. Since the European Court of Human Rights intervened, there have been no deportation flights from Great Britain to Rwanda.

Harsh criticism comes from opposition parties and human rights activists: The British Refugee Council has criticized Great Britain as betraying its duty under the United Nations Refugee Convention to give people a fair trial regardless of how they arrived. Labor leader Keir Starmer questioned whether the plans would be legal.

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