UK panel asks government to scrap plan to turn back migrant boats

Follow 9News Nigeria On Social Media

Social sharing

A UK parliamentary committee on Wednesday criticised government plans to deter migrants and refugees from trying to reach Britain in small boats, saying the measures would endanger lives without stopping dangerous journeys across the English Channel like the one that killed 27 people last week.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has proposed legislation that would give authorities patrolling the Channel the power to turn away boats carrying migrants. The Nationality and Borders Bill would also make it more difficult for people who enter the country illegally to claim asylum and allow asylum-seekers to be screened abroad.

But the Joint Committee on Human Rights, a cross-party panel that includes members from both houses of Parliament, said Wednesday that “a policy of pushbacks” would probably conflict with international human rights law and maritime law.

“Pushbacks are known to endanger lives at sea,” the committee said in a report. “This is even more so when dealing with people on small, unseaworthy vessels, in a busy shipping lane, often with rough waters, without appropriate lifesaving equipment, as is the case for migrants in small boats in the Channel.”

An overcrowded inflatable boat sank on 24 November in the waters between Britain and France, killing 27 people. A survivor of the deadliest migration accident ever recorded on the treacherous crossing said the passengers made emergency calls to both British and French authorities, but both sides told them to call the other.

More than 25,000 people have reached Britain on small boats this year, up from 8,500 in 2020 and just 300 in 2018, heaping pressure on Johnson and his Conservative government to intervene.

Johnson says the Nationality and Borders Bill now making its way through Parliament would undercut the business model of people smugglers who charge thousands of euros to arrange cross-Channel voyages.

Tom Pursglove, the British minister responsible for tackling illegal immigration, rejected the idea that the government proposals violate international law. He said the government is seeking to prevent deaths at sea and to put criminal gangs out of business.

“I think what we saw last week is a dreadful tragedy. It is unthinkable,″ Pursglove testified before the committee. “The thought that women and children and men lost their lives in this way is horrendous. And for me, that only stiffens my resolve to work as hard as I possibly can to play my part, to render the route unviable, with the ultimate objective in my mind of preserving life.”

One survivor of last week’s disaster, Mohammed Ibrahim Zada, a Kurdish migrant from Iran, told Kurdish media network Rudaw that both France and Britain ignored the passengers’ pleas for help when their boat began taking on water.

“We called the French police and asked them to help us,’’ he said. “We sent our location to the French police, and they said, ‘You are in British waters.’ So, we were inside British waters and called the British police for help, but they said, ‘Call the French police.’’’

British officials denied ignoring mayday appeals, saying they responded to every call received on the day the 27 people died. Dan O’Mahoney, Britain’s clandestine channel threat commander, told the committee on Wednesday there were multiple migrant boats in the water on the day of the sinking.

“I can’t tell you with any certainty whether we definitely received a call from that boat or not,” he said, adding that the coast guard was attempting to find out.

“The French authorities alerted us to the presence of that boat … at which point it was well within French territorial waters,” O’Mahoney said. “It may never be possible to say with absolute accuracy whether that boat was in U.K. waters or French waters prior to that.”

The French maritime agency also expressed surprise and dismay at the survivor accounts, saying the agency issued an immediate mayday relay call to all boats in the area as soon as it heard about the sinking boat from a nearby fishing vessel.

The agency spokesperson also dismissed the notion that authorities passed the buck, insisting that French and British authorities cooperate all the time to help vessels experiencing trouble of various kinds in the English Channel.

“We work together almost daily,” including on joint operations in each others’ waters, the spokesperson said. “We have no difficulty in coordination.”

The British government’s borders bill also proposes to treat asylum-seekers who sneak into Britain more harshly than those who use the few authorised routes for refugees. The human rights committee said that is inconsistent with the UN Refugee Convention, which “explicitly prohibits refugees being penalized for unauthorized entry.”

Labour lawmaker Harriet Harman, who chairs the committee, said the government’s plans wouldn’t deter Channel crossings and would make the frigid seas even more dangerous.

“Current failures in the immigration and asylum system cannot be remedied by harsher penalties and more dangerous enforcement action,” she said.

Source

Leave your comment on this post

THE ROTTEN FISH: CAN OF WORMS OPENED OF APC & TINUBU'S GOVERNMENT OVER NIGERIA'S ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

WATCH THE CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND KNOW THE RESPONSIBLE PARTIES TO BLAME FOR NIGERIA'S ECONOMIC CHALLENGES, WHILE CITIZENS ENDURE SEVERE HARDSHIPS.

Watch this episode of ISSUES IN THE NEWS on 9News Nigeria featuring Peter Obi's Special Adviser, Dr Katch Ononuju, 9News Nigeria Publisher, Obinna Ejianya and Tinubu Support Group Leader, McHezekiah Eherechi

The economic crisis and hardship in Nigeria are parts of the discussion.


Watch, leave your comments, and share to create more awareness on this issue.


#9NewsNigeria #Nigeria #issuesInTheNews #politics #tinubu THE ROTTEN FISH: CAN OF WORMS OPENED ...
DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE AND LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS FOR SUBSEQUENT UPDATES
#9newsnigeria #economia #economy #nigeria #government @9newsng
www.9newsng.com

Leave your comment

Click on the link below or Scan the QR Code to join the 9News Nigeria WhatsApp Channel

9News Nigeria Investigative Reports WhatsApp Channel
9News Nigeria Investigative Reports WhatsApp Channel
About 9News Nigeria 13308 Articles
9News Nigeria is Nigeria's favourite news source. For Authentic, Unbiased News on Politics, Business, Sports, Technology, Entertainment and Lifestyles, Health, Nollywood, Crime and Investigations, Family and Relationships, Inspirations .. and much more. For Latest News from Africa and around the world, 9News Nigeria is your best source. WhatsApp +2348115805632 Email: info@9newsng.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/9NewsNG | Twitter/Instagram: @9newsng

Be the first to comment

Leave your comment