The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said he was “very concerned” about the new law that the UK intends to pass to limit immigration to its territories. Under the plan, presented by British Foreign Secretary Swella Braverman, anyone who arrives in the country on a small boat – a typical vehicle used by migrants and refugees crossing the English Channel towards the island – and is caught without the necessary legal papers, will be deported and will be prohibited from re-entering the country.

“This is tantamount to waiving the right to immunity,” the High Commission said in a statement released on Tuesday, shortly after the British government’s intentions were announced. In addition, the UNHCR said the bill would be a “clear violation” of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which defines refugees as asylum-seekers to avoid persecution and gives them the right not to return to their home country in case of danger. except in special cases, such as a serious criminal history. “Most people fleeing war and persecution do not have access to the necessary passports or visas. There are no safe and “legitimate” routes for them. Denying them access to asylum undermines the very purpose for which the refugee convention was created,” the UNHCR said in a statement.

Fires against the new bill also come from the European Union.

Sunak is meeting with Macron to ask him for co-financing of Channel patrols.

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told Politico she had a private conversation with Braverman during which she let her know that she considered the new bill “violating international law” while Sunak’s administration insists the law remains in the defense of human rights and argues that limiting immigration is vital to the country at this time.

Johansson’s comments reinforce the view of many that ministers expect the bill to be shelved due to legal issues and could be a cynical attempt to stoke tensions with Labor ahead of the general election. Braverman wrote on the front page of the bill that she could not judge whether the provisions “are consistent with what is provided for in the Convention on the Rights of Refugees.”

The European Commissioner’s intervention comes during Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s trip to Paris, where he will meet French President Emmanuel Macron today for the first bilateral summit between the UK and France in five years, where they are expected to discuss further strengthening police cooperation. and the Coast Guard and how they are funded.

Suniac said he would ask Macron for a guarantee that France would pay for coastal patrols that would play an active role in preventing boats from crossing the English Channel.