"Throw away the matter"? Countries Concerned by the United Nations over the UK Illegal Immigration Act | Act | United Nations
A bill on illegal immigration in the UK was passed in parliament on the 18th. This bill has been controversial for allowing the British to pay for the direct deportation of illegal immigrants to Rwanda.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volk Turk, said that the passage of the bill could lead to other countries following suit, which is a "worrying precedent".
dispute
After a day of intense debate, the House of Commons in the UK rejected the last amendment proposed by the House of Lords to the Illegal Immigration Act on the 18th. The UK Parliament subsequently stated in a statement, "With the two houses reaching a consensus on the text of the bill, the Illegal Immigration Act has been passed in Parliament."
The upper house of the UK Parliament strongly opposed and repeatedly proposed amendments to this bill, but they were all rejected in the lower house of parliament. Multiple media outlets have reported that the Illegal Immigration Act is currently ready to be submitted to the King of England and will become law once officially approved.
The content of this bill includes: prohibiting immigrants who arrive through the English Channel and other "illegal" channels from applying for asylum in the UK; Allow illegal immigrants arriving in the UK to be deported to their country of origin or so-called safe third countries, such as Rwanda. Many people in the UK and abroad have criticized the above measures as "inhumane" and "ineffective".
Last April, the British government reached an agreement with the Rwandan government to deport illegal immigrants and agreed to provide corresponding funds to the Rwandan side. But due to the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights, the first charter flight scheduled to transport illegal immigrants to Rwanda in June last year was cancelled at the last minute.
The British High Court ruled last year that the so-called "Rwanda Plan" was legal. On June 29th this year, the UK Court of Appeal overturned the previous ruling and ruled that the plan was illegal. The British government subsequently stated that it will appeal to the Supreme Court.
Multiple media outlets have reported that the new law still faces legal obstacles regarding measures to deal with illegal immigration. However, on the 18th, a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Richie Sunak welcomed the passage of the Illegal Immigration Act by the UK Parliament and said that the government is confident that it will succeed in the "legal challenge" of the High Court.
worry
In recent years, the problem of immigrants illegally crossing the English Channel from France to the UK by small boats has become increasingly serious, and related accidents have led to many immigrant deaths. According to statistics from the UK government, a total of 45755 people crossed the English Channel by boat last year, breaking the historical record of over 28000 people in 2021.
According to media outlets such as the Associated Press, the British government believes that many illegal immigrants are economic immigrants rather than refugees. British Prime Minister Sunak has repeatedly emphasized that preventing illegal boats is a "priority" for the UK. Many members of the ruling Conservative Party in the UK believe that if illegal immigrants know they cannot stay in the UK, they will not risk paying money to criminal groups to illegally enter the country.
However, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees warned on the 18th that the newly passed bill by the UK Parliament "violates international law" and will put refugees at "serious risk".
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Turk, also stated on the 18th that the passage of the bill has raised "very serious legal concerns" and set a worrying precedent for other countries to follow suit.
On the day the UK Parliament passed the Illegal Immigration Act, a barge capable of accommodating 500 people arrived in the UK and was towed to Port Portland in Dorset. The UK government announced in April that it will lease this barge for temporary resettlement of immigrants awaiting asylum applications. The first batch will receive approximately 500 adult male immigrants.
This approach has also attracted criticism in the UK and abroad. Some immigrant rights groups questioned that the lack of facilities on the barge was "isolating" hundreds of people here. But the British government insists that it is cheaper to accommodate migrants by barge than by hotel and can cope with the spending pressure of the surge in migrants across the English Channel.
