Bill would breach UN Convention against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The British legal charity REDRESS, which works to deliver justice for survivors of torture, warned last week that the Illegal Migration Bill will inevitably lead to the UK breaching its obligations under international law against torture.
In a 7-page briefing, REDRESS outlines its concerns with the Bill. It focuses on how the Bill would violate the UK's obligations under both the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment (UNCAT) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
REDRESS notes that under the Illegal Migration Bill, people fleeing persecution by torture will not be allowed to claim asylum if they travelled through another country on their way to the UK, and they will be subject to detention and removal.
The briefing explains: "No protection or human rights claim will be deemed admissible, and there will be no right of appeal for it to be heard, no matter how strong it might be … As a result, the only way individuals can avoid being removed from the UK is through a 'serious harm suspensive claim' or a 'factual suspensive claim' that they must file within seven days of receiving their removal notice."
REDRESS says the procedures for determining what 'serious harm' a person might face upon removal to either their country of origin or a third country are "wholly inadequate".
"The scheme provided for in the Bill, and the speed of its intended operation, is not likely to allow a survivor of torture to demonstrate that they have suffered torture, or that they are vulnerable as a result, nor does it enable the UK adequately to assess their risk of torture in a new country," REDRESS added.
As a result of its inadequacies, REDRESS says the Bill violates the principle of non-refoulement to torture and will inevitably lead to some survivors of torture being returned directly or indirectly to their country of origin or sent to another unsafe country.
The briefing also highlights how the use of immigration detention would become routine under the Bill, making the detention of survivors of torture inevitable.
The Bill contains no reference to any safeguarding for survivors of torture, and lengthy periods of detention would become very likely.
"Under the Bill, there is no procedure for identifying survivors of torture before they are detained, and the right to redress and rehabilitation is fundamentally undermined by their inability to file a protection claim," REDRESS stated.