(Geneva) The United Nations called the illegal immigration bill presented by the United Kingdom on Tuesday tantamount to “the end of the right of asylum” and urged London to choose “more humane” responses.
“The law, if passed, will amount to ending asylum – depriving those who arrive illegally in the UK of the right to seek the protection afforded to a refugee, regardless of the genuineness and urgency of their their request,” the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement, calling for its review.
In indicating that it is “deeply concerned” by the project, the High Commission stresses that it would refuse applicants “even the possibility of presenting their case”. “It would be a clear violation of the Refugee Convention,” asserts the UN agency.
“Most people fleeing war and persecution are simply unable to obtain the required passports and visas. There are no safe and ‘legal’ roads available to them,” the UNHCR also points out.
“To deny them access to asylum on this basis undermines the very purpose for which the Refugee Convention was established,” insists the UN body.
