Last week, the United Kingdom’s (UK) Home Secretary, Priti Patel, vowed to introduce the “biggest overhaul” of the country’s “fundamentally broken” asylum system. She said that by next year, the Conservative Party would introduce crucial laws that would make the system “firm and fair.” She also highlighted the need to provide “safe and legal routes,” while also restricting illegal migrants from “making endless legal claims to remain” in the UK. Further, Patel promised to expedite the return and removal of those “who have no claim for protection.” A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed and supported Patel’s proposal.
Patel’s plan comes as the UK witnesses a rise in the number of migrants and asylum applicants. This year, around 4,000 migrants, mainly from conflict-prone areas in Asia and Africa—including Yemen, Egypt, Sudan and Iraq— crossed the English Channel to travel from France to the UK. In August alone, over 650 individuals have arrived in the UK. These migrants include unaccompanied children, babies, and pregnant women.
Recently, a series of leaked documents showed that the UK government is considering setting up an offshore asylum centre in the Atlantic to house asylum-seekers while their applications are being processed. According to Financial Times, this was later confirmed by Downing Street as well. Reports say that the UK is looking at several islands to house the centre and that the list of possible hosts includes Moldova, Morocco, and Papua New Guinea.
The UK’s vision is based on a similar Australian policy, which was brought in by former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who currently serves as the trade advisor for the British government. The Australian model was implemented in 2013, wherein migrants arriving at Australian shores are housed in facilities in Papua New Guinea or Nauru. The European Union (EU), too, has set up similar asylum facilities in Libya and Turkey. The facilities run by the EU and Australia have both been the subjects of several concerns about human rights abuses.
Now, similar criticisms are being targeted against the UK’s proposal too. Experts believe that the UK’s plan is “very likely illegal” and will lead to similar “horrendous human rights abuses.” Responding to the critiques of her policy, Patel said, “Those defending the broken system – the traffickers, the do-gooders, the lefty lawyers, the Labour Party, they are defending the indefensible.”
Recently, the European Commission, too, decided to speed up its plan to present a policy aimed at bringing much-needed changes to the EU’s migration and asylum policy. Like Patel’s proposal, the European document also focussed on expediting returns, deterring entry into the bloc, and partnering with countries to set up offshore detention facilities.
Also Read: Europe’s New Migration Pact is Not the Solution to its Migrant Problem