Britain's new immigration law violates international law, says UN

July 18, 2023

The new British immigration law, which plans to prevent migrants who have arrived in the United Kingdom illegally from seeking asylum in the country, is contrary to international law, denounced the UN on Tuesday.

The law, passed by Britain’s parliament overnight Monday-Tuesday, ‘contradicts’ UK obligations under international human rights and refugee law, agency heads say of the UN in charge of these two subjects, respectively Volker Türk and Filippo Grandi, in a press release.

This text is a key step for Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has made it a priority to fight against illegal immigration. The text still has to be validated by King Charles III.

According to Messrs. Türk and Grandi, the law will have “profound consequences for people in need of international protection”, noting in particular that the law “creates very broad new powers of detention, with limited judicial review”.

The UN fears that thousands of people will remain in the UK indefinitely in precarious legal situations.

“For decades the UK has provided refuge to those in need, in line with its international obligations” but the new legislation “significantly erodes the legal framework that has protected so many, putting refugees at grave risk in violation of international law,” said Grandi.

“In addition to raising very serious legal concerns from an international point of view, this bill creates a worrying precedent”, criticizes for his part Mr. Türk, who fears that “other countries, including in Europe” be tempted to follow the British model.

It calls on the UK government “to renew its commitment to human rights by overturning this law and ensuring that the rights of all migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are respected, protected and fulfilled, without discrimination”.

This law, which has drawn widespread criticism in the United Kingdom and from international organisations, prevents migrants who have arrived illegally on British territory from seeking asylum in the country.

The government also wants migrants, after being detained, to be expedited quickly, either to their country of origin or to a third country such as Rwanda, wherever they come from.

London made a deal last year with Rwanda to send illegal migrants there, but no deportations have yet taken place. A first flight scheduled for June 2022 had been canceled after a decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).