The Asylum and Immigration Bill, which has its second reading today, could
lead to refugees being returned to face torture, persecution or death,
they said.
Amnesty International, the Refugee Council and the Refugee Legal Centre
said that removing the right to a second-tier appeal and putting the
appeal system beyond the reach of the courts by denying the right to
judicial review, would remove a vital check on initial decisions that are
notoriously poor. Over 15,000 initial decisions were overturned on appeal
in the last 12 months.
Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:
"This Bill will be devastating for thousands of refugees seeking
protection in the UK. When initial decision-making is so poor, the appeals
process can be the only barrier between a refugee and the secret police
waiting to torture them on their return."
Refugee Council Chief Executive Maeve Sherlock said:
"The effect of these measures plus the proposed restrictions on legal aid
would deny a fair hearing to asylum seekers. Getting asylum decisions
right first time will lead to fewer appeals, speedier results, lower costs
and greater public confidence in the system."
Refugee Legal Centre Chief Executive Barry Stoyle said:
"The appeals system is being watered down. The proposed one-stop appeal
tribunal will be unaccountable before any law court, reviewing its own
decisions. The tribunal will make life-or-death decisions without anyone
being able to question them."
The Bill's proposals could also result in families being imprisoned for
arriving without travel documents. The Bill will make it a criminal
offence for refugees to arrive in the UK without a passport unless they
can provide a reason acceptable to the Home Office. Being told by an agent
to destroy papers appears not to be an acceptable defence.
The organisations say that this has the potential to criminalise a great
many refugees: the UN's refugee agency acknowledges that many refugees do
not possess travel documents. Furthermore, the Refugee Convention
explicitly states that refugees should not be penalised because they
arrive without the appropriate documentation.
It is possible that measures in the Bill will be used by the government to
develop controversial plans for 'Zones of Protection' in refugees' regions
of origin. In other words instead of providing sanctuary in the UK, the
Government may send refugees to an alternative 'third' country,
irrespective of whether they have any links to that country. This would
shift the responsibility to poor countries, which already provide safety
to well over 70 per cent of the total number of refugees worldwide.
Read the 'Parliamentary Briefing: Asylum & Immigration Bill' by Amnesty International, the Refugee Council and the Refugee Legal Centre