Great Britain wants to criminalize illegal crossing of the English Channel – EURACTIV.pl

The British government on Tuesday (July 6) proposed a bill to allow asylum seekers to move outside the UK while their applications are being processed. UK to follow Denmark?

The plan, known as the Nationalities and Borders Bill, was introduced by the British Home Secretary وزير Priti Patel. In a statement, the Interior Ministry said it was the latest measure taken by the government to “reform the broken asylum system”.

Priti Patel added that the law “delivers what the British voted for.” United kingdom He took full control of its borders.”

UK: What does Citizenship and Borders Act say?

The bill states, inter alia: Tougher penalties for illegal entry into Great Britain and is set to give Border Patrol additional powers to detain illegal immigrants.

Border guards will be able to force boats with illegal immigrants on board trying to cross the English Channel back to France.

For deliberately entering this country without a permit, you will face a sentence of up to six months to four years in prison, and the maximum penalty for people smuggling will be raised to life imprisonment. The bill also contains provisions allowing asylum claims to be processed outside the UK, similar to a similar law adopted a month ago in Denmark. However, London needs appropriate agreements with other countries to provide a similar provision.

The UK bill characterizes refugees according to how they travel to the UK, divides them into two groups and bases their rights on how they arrive – either by resettlement or by illegal means that could be considered a criminal case.

In early June, the Danish Parliament passed a law allowing asylum seekers in Denmark to be sent outside Europe. Human rights organizations, as well as the European Union and the United Nations criticized the decision.

Like Danish law, the British proposal has been criticized for potential violations of international law. Legal Association England I Wales He warned that the proposal would violate Britain’s obligations under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

Michelle Pace“From a purely legal point of view, there is no way to actually implement these plans,” said a professor of global studies at Roskilde University in Denmark and an associate at British research center Chatham House.

She noted that any policy involving the expulsion of asylum seekers would violate the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention, which was endorsed by both the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom Denmark.

But Home Secretary Priti Patel said the bill would create a “strict but fair” asylum system that would end smuggling gangs into Britain once and for all.

From the statistics for that summons According to PAP, in the first six months of 2021, nearly 6,000 people arrived in Great Britain via the English Channel – usually on small unstable boats or buoys as illegal immigrants.