United Kingdom - March 2023

The Parliament is currently debating proposed legislation which would ban migrants who enter the UK irregularly from claiming asylum, particularly targeting adults arriving in small boats typically crossing the channel from France. In 2022, 45,000 people irregularly entered the UK by small boat according to official data. The bill would also block migrants entering the UK irregularly from accessing services designed to support victims of modern slavery and would hear human rights claims remotely after deportation, which the IOM has said would limit survivors’ ability to report trafficking and to access assistance. The bill would deal a blow to criminal gangs who profit from irregular migration and human trafficking, according to the UK government. The bill would also cap the number of refugees arriving via “safe and legal” routes. The Parliamentary committee on human rights has launched an inquiry to assess the bill’s potential impacts on international treaty obligations.

Sources: Home Office and Prime Minister’s Office, Council of Europe, UK Parliament, Home Office and the Rt Hon Suella Braverman KC  MP, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Open Democracy, The Guardian