Rishi Sunak’s plan to stop small boat crossings breaks international law, UN says

Rishi Sunak’s proposals to deport asylum seekers who arrive on small boats without considering their claims are a “clear breach” of international law, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has said.

The government has already admitted that the Illegal Migration Bill may breach human rights laws, with the prime minister saying he was “up for the fight” predicted in British courts.

It would impose a legal duty on the home secretary to remove anyone who arrives on a small boat, either to Rwanda or another “safe third country” without hearing their asylum claim.

In a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, the UNHCR said such legislation would “amount to an asylum ban … no matter how genuine and compelling” individual cases may be.

“The effect of the bill would be to deny protection to many asylum-seekers in need of safety and protection, and even deny them the opportunity to put forward their case,” the body added.

“This would be a clear breach of the Refugee Convention and would undermine a longstanding, humanitarian tradition of which the British people are rightly proud.

“We urge the government, and all MPs and peers, to reconsider the bill and instead pursue more humane and practical policy solutions.”

Mr Sunak was bullish about the prospect of legal challenges at a press conference, as he batted away questions about practical issues over the ability to detain and deport large numbers of asylum seekers.

He said there is “absolutely nothing improper or unprecedented” about pursuing laws that may violate the Human Rights Act, and that the government “believes we are acting in compliance with international law”.

Mr Sunak said the new law would “deter” small boat crossings, without providing evidence, and allow the UK to “decide who we bring here and how many”.

The UNHCR said Home Office’s data, which shows Afghans to be the largest nationality currently crossing the Channel, indicate that the “vast majority” of small boat migrants would be granted refugee protection if the UK considered their claims.

“Branding refugees as undeserving based on mode of arrival distorts these fundamental facts,” it added, calling for the government to consider its own “concrete and actionable proposals” to reduce the demand for small boat crossings.

In speeches unveiling the bill, the home secretary and prime minister accused boat migrants of “jumping the queue” and violating “fairness”, saying that refugees should only arrive on routes chosen by the government and be subject to a numbers cap.

But the UNHCR said resettlement programmes “remain very limited and can never substitute for access to asylum”, which people must be present in the UK to claim.

The body said the plans undermine the “very purpose” of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which was approved at the time by all parties in the House of Commons after being ratified by Winston Churchill’s Conservative government.

“The convention explicitly recognises that refugees may be compelled to enter a country of asylum irregularly,” the statement added.

“International law does not require that refugees claim asylum in the first country they reach.”

The UNHCR said that while it is possible to transfer asylum seekers between safe third countries, the UK has not been “part of any such agreement” since Brexit and the Rwanda deal fails to meet the necessary international standards”.