PRITI Patel's asylum reforms would “undermine the UK’s human rights obligations”, according to a new report.
The document by the UK Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights warned about the impact of the proposed Nationality and Borders Bill, put together under the Home Secretary's leadership.
It said that the proposed reforms to the bill, "would fail to meet the UK’s human rights obligations and risk exacerbating the already unacceptable backlog of claims".
It also warns that the legislation would “create different categories of refugee based on how they came to the UK would be inconsistent with the Refugee Convention and potentially a discriminatory breach of human rights.”
It also addresses several other controversial changes, including “permitting more asylum claims to be rejected without consideration” and the introduction of “the possibility of offshore processing of asylum claims” and says that these factors “risk undermining the humanitarian and cooperative principles on which refugee protection is founded”.
Joanna Cherry SNP MP and deputy chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, commented: “The UK has a proud history of championing the human rights of refugees.
“We should continue in this tradition and do all we can to be a place of welcome and support for people who have been persecuted. The bill is at odds with the refugee convention and with our human rights obligations and should be amended.
“Rather than coming up with new punitive measures and lambasting the difficulties in rejecting asylum applications, the Government should focus on dealing with the lengthy backlog of cases.
She concluded: "Fundamentally this bill increases the likelihood that the UK turns its back on people it should be helping. This would be wrong and the Government needs to rethink these proposals."
Notably, the report also criticises the narrative the Home Secretary has used to support her decisions and targets surrounding immigration law.
In the introduction, the report states: “Despite the Home Secretary’s stated commitment to supporting refugees, in recent years she has also suggested that the UK asylum system is ‘fundamentally broken’, and ‘collapsing under the pressures created by … illegal routes to asylum, facilitated by criminal smuggling gangs.’"
READ MORE: 'Inhumane' Home Office immigration reforms blasted by Scots refugee group
It goes on to say: “However, Home Office data shows that the number of asylum applications has remained fairly stable for the past 5 years.”
The bill is at present making its way through the House of Lords and is due to go to committee stage on January 27, when peers will be able to suggest amendments.
The planned legislation has been a site of controversy since its initial reading in Parliament. It was introduced to the House of Commons on July 6, 2021 and completed its Commons stages on December 8 of the same year. The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on January 5, 2022.
The bill was drafted and introduced in response to the reported number of people attempting to cross the English channel – a dangerous journey that has claimed the lives of many migrants who have decided to take the risk of dying in the hopes of creating a safer future for themselves and their families.
It includes plans to bring in the Navy to “send back” asylum seekers attempting to reach the UK, as well as proposing changes to the Government’s authority on citizenship status, where those in power would be able to repeal someone’s citizenship “in certain circumstances” without first notifying them.
The bill has been met by public outrage, with protests taking place across the country. People are worried the proposed changes to powers could be misused to persecute minorities, who may be treated more severely than white British citizens for committing similar offences.
The full Committee on Human Rights report can be read here.
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