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BREAKING
Palestinian platforms: Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under the protection of the occupation police
Palestinian platforms: The IOF detonated a booby-trapped robot east of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Syrian Defense: We call on all parties in Sweida to cooperate with security forces and exercise restraint
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Reality is that there is a very limited retreat of the vehicles, with the occupation forces providing cover undeer fire up to Salah al-Din Street

UN: British Asylum Reforms Bill against International Law

  • By Al Mayadeen
  • Source: Agencies
  • 23 Sep 2021 20:45
2 Min Read

The UNHCR objects to the British bill aimed at imposing “damaging and unjustified penalties” on refugees and asylum-seekers.

  • x
  • The British bill includes strict measures against immigrants.
    The British bill imposes strict measures on immigrants

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that the bill would “penalize most refugees seeking asylum in the country via damaging and unjustified penalties, creating an asylum model that undermines established international refugee protection rules and practices.”

The UN body has urged the Government to re-assess parts of the draft law, currently going through Parliament, that would create an “unfair two-tier asylum system and cause unnecessary suffering to asylum-seekers”.

The bill intends to make it a criminal offense to knowingly arrive in the UK without permission, with a maximum sentence for those entering the country unlawfully ranging from six months to four years of imprisonment.

It means that, for the first time, how someone enters the UK, whether legally or illegally, will have an impact on how their asylum process goes and on their status in the UK if the asylum demand is successful.

The sentence of convicted people-smugglers could reach life behind bars, up from the current maximum sentence of 14 years.

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“Those arriving irregularly will be stigmatized as unworthy and unwelcome, kept in a precarious status for ten years and denied access to public funds unless destitute. Family reunion will be restricted,” Rossella Pagliuchi-Lor, the UNHCR’s UK Representative said.

“This differentiation of treatment has no basis in international law,” Ms. Pagliuchi-Lor added. “The Convention’s definition of a refugee doesn’t vary according to the route of travel, choice of country of asylum, or the timing of a claim.

"This Bill would undermine, not promote, the Government’s stated goal of improving protection for those at risk of persecution."

 

-- Rossella Pagliuchi-Lor, the UNHCR’s UK Representative.

The UNHCR criticized the fact that refugees should claim asylum in the "first safe country" they arrive in, as this principle is not stated in the 1951 Refugee Convention and there is no such requirement under international law, where the primary responsibility for protecting refugees is with the State in which an asylum-seeker arrives.

UNHCR believes the Bill:

✖️ won’t deter people risking their lives

📈 will increase suffering and deny human rights

❗️ will be unworkable

Full analysis here: https://t.co/lYSJdiZInn

— UNHCR United Kingdom (@UNHCRUK) September 23, 2021

The British bill comes at a time when the UK is facing a record influx of migrants crossing the Channel "illegally" on life-threatening boats, despite promises by the Conservative government to make the route impassable.

  • UK
  • Britain
  • draft law
  • asylum

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