The Illegal Migration Bill risks ‘exposing people to serious harm and placing the UK in breach of its international legal obligations to protect human rights’. That’s according to Britain’s rights watchdog: the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
Ahead of the Bill’s report stage in the House of Lords (28 June), the EHRC has said it remains ‘seriously concerned’ about the proposals. It has advised Peers to support a series of amendments that would ensure human rights protections in the UK are maintained.
Among the amendments backed by the EHRC is one which seeks to ensure that the key protections of section 3 of the Human Rights Act are maintained in relation to the Bill. This amendment would help safeguard the universality of the UK’s human rights legal protections.
The EHRC have also advised Peers to prevent the deportation of potential trafficking victims before they have been able to have their claims considered, and to maintain the current ban on children being held in immigration detention in most circumstances.
A spokesperson for the Equality and Human Rights Commission said:
“We remain seriously concerned about the potential implications of the Illegal Migration Bill on human rights and the safety of individuals.
“Careful consideration should continue to be given to the impact of the Bill on different groups with protected characteristics – including children, pregnant women, disabled people, torture survivors, and victims of trafficking.”
The EHRC called again for measures to increase safe, regular routes to the UK for those in need of asylum to be brought forward alongside the Bill.
Read the full Illegal Migration Bill House of Lords report stage briefing
Notes to Editors
Among the series of amendments the EHRC advised Peers to support are:
- Amendment 5, in the names of Baroness Chakrabarti, Lord Paddick, Lord Etherton and Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate, which would prevent the disapplication of section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 to the provisions of the Bill and any secondary legislation made under it. It would also clarify that the provisions of the Bill should be interpreted consistently with the UK’s obligations under relevant international human rights treaties.
- Amendments 51, 57, 59 and 63, tabled by Baroness Mobarik, The Lord Bishop of Durham and Baroness Stroud, which aim to maintain current restrictions on the immigration detention of children (including unaccompanied children).
- Amendments 90-94, in the names of Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, Lord Cormack, Baroness Butler-Sloss, and Baroness Hamwee, which seek to prevent the deportation of potential victims of trafficking before they have been able to have their claim considered by the National Referral Mechanism.
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