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PRITI PATEL’S new immigration plans threaten to create a discriminatory two-tier system that undermines international law, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) warned today.
UNHCR urged the Home Secretary to rethink plans that will deny asylum-seekers who arrive in Britain via “illegal” routes the right to settle permanently in the country and limit access to benefits.
The asylum overhaul first announced in March is set to be included in the Queen’s Speech on Tuesday.
Ahead of the speech, UNHCR representative in Britain Rossella Pagliuchi-Lor said: “We recognise the need to improve some asylum procedures.
“But these plans threaten to create a discriminatory two-tier asylum system, undermining the 1951 Refugee Convention and longstanding global co-operation on refugee issues.”
Ms Pagliuchi-Lor warned that the plans are unlikely to deter crossings and will have real and harmful consequences.
A government spokesperson claimed the plans were “fully in line with our international and legal obligations.”
