UNHCR says new UK asylum law violates international law

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is objecting to a British bill to discourage people from coming to the UK.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, if the proposal is passed, a split will arise between a relatively small group of asylum seekers who came to the UK with the consent of the British government and a much larger group that came on their own initiative. UNHCR representative in the UK, Rossella Bagliucci-Laure, says such a dualism has no basis in international law.

Temporary residence permit

Last year, 8,500 migrants arrived in England by boat from France. This year there are already over 12,000. Home Secretary Patel is under great pressure from her Conservative Party to do something about it.

Initially, you want asylum seekers who came to the UK without government authorization to be deported to the country to which they initially fled. If that doesn’t work, according to her bill, they will receive a temporary residence permit that can be withdrawn at any time.

Bagliucci tells Lor that they will live in insecurity and poverty for years and will not have the right to family reunification. “This will lead to health damage and hinder their integration. The financial, individual and social costs are high.”

Moreover, according to Pagliuchi-Lor, there is no evidence that this law will deter asylum seekers. The British Parliament has yet to vote on the proposal.