Controversial new border control laws proposed by Home Secretary Priti Patel breach historic global rules to protect asylum seekers, campaigners have warned.
This Wednesday marks the 70th anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention.
The UK was a founding member of the agreement which saw 143 countries pledge to home people displaced by fighting in Europe and the rise of communism following World War II.
But campaigners believe Patel’s new legislation – that includes plans to potentially “offshore’” asylum seekers who arrive in the UK at centres abroad – is “knowingly” breaking the UN rules.
Sabir Zazai, chief executive of the Scottish Refugee Council, said: “Last week, we heard MPs debate the Tory Government’s anti-refugee Bill.
“While presenting their anti-refugee Bill to Parliament, Priti Patel shamefully tried to demonise some of the world’s most vulnerable people. That is, people fleeing civil wars and brutal regimes that use torture to silence opponents.
“This Bill is not based in evidence and is quite simply, the biggest threat to refugee rights that we’ve seen in the UK for decades. The Bill will see people’s asylum claims judged on the basis of the way they travelled to the UK, not their fear of persecution.”
Zazai, 46, who said he would be unable to build a new life for himself in Scotland if he arrived after the law change, said it “directly undermined” the UN Refugee Convention.
He added: “I arrived in the UK in 1999 through a so-called ‘illegal route’ after fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan. These rules would have made me ‘inadmissible’ to the UK.
“It is a sad state of affairs that as we mark the 70th anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention on Wednesday, the UK Government is knowinglyrisking breaking this country’s promise to abide by its principles.”
The UK-wide Nationality and Borders Bill, which passed a second reading last Tuesday, will make it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK without permission. It will face more parliamentary scrutiny later this year.
The maximum sentence for those entering the country unlawfully will rise from six months’ jail to four years, under the legislation.
The stricter rules are part of Patel’s pledge to “fix” the UK’s “broken asylum system”.
A spokesperson UN’s refugee agency the UNHCR said: “We were saddened that the Bill has passed this stage in this form.
“This Bill would create a discriminatory two-tier asylum system violating the 1951 Refugee Convention and target bona fide refugees.
“The right to seek asylum is universal and doesn’t depend on the mode of arrival.
Last night a spokesperson for the Home Office said: “Our Nationality and Borders Bill will fix our broken asylum
system and is compliant with our international obligations, including the Refugee Convention.”
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