Britain’s Conservative government is concerned about the growing number of unwanted people crossing the English Channel to enter the country.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has criticized Britain’s planned asylum law as a breach of international law. “This goes against the UK’s obligations under the International Refugee Convention,” UNHCR UK representative Vicky Tennant told Sky News on Sunday. “We are very concerned that this sets a global precedent.”
The law could also “effectively erase” the right to asylum in the UK for almost all refugees. Tennant stressed that the focus must be on the asylum system so that applications can be processed quickly.
New debate in Parliament
Parliament in London will debate the controversial asylum bill again on Monday. It provides for the detention of all persons who enter the UK unintentionally, regardless of their background, for up to one month. They must then be deported to their homeland or – if that is too dangerous – to Rwanda or another country. The right to seek asylum must be taken away from them.
Britain’s Conservative government is concerned about the growing number of unwanted people crossing the English Channel to enter the country. She had announced that she would “take back control of her own borders” after Brexit and is therefore now under pressure from the right wing of the Conservative party. Due to the withdrawal from the EU, Britain no longer has any readmission agreements with EU countries. Critics accuse the government of exaggerating the problem to please conservative voters.
(APA/dpa)