LONDON -
Under the slogan "Stop the boats," British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced his new plan to prevent migrants arriving in the country through the sea channel separating Britain and France.
As soon as the details of the plan were announced, a wide legal and human rights controversy erupted in Britain, due to its procedures that permanently close the door to migrants arriving in the country via small boats.
Sunak justified his approval of this plan by the inability of his government to find a solution to the boats flowing into the country, and that he "tried in every way" and he had no choice but to deny everyone who arrives by these boats the right of asylum.
Through the new plan, the government is trying to circumvent the decision of the European Court of Human Rights, which previously overturned the decision of the British Home Office to deport a number of asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Security forces evacuate migrants from a camp in the French border region of Calais with Britain, where thousands are being held before submitting asylum applications (Getty Images)
what's new?
Sunak's new plan, which was put to parliament for a vote, would give the UK Home Office the power to detain and deport anyone who arrives by small boat to Rwanda or to a safe third destination, denying anyone who arrives by sea the right to apply for asylum.
Detained persons will not be able to post bail for their release or obtain judicial review within the first 28 days of their detention, which would be enough time to prepare for the deportation of detained immigrants.
Children (under the age of 18) will also be subject to detention, and they will not be able to enjoy the right to reunite with their families, and their deportation will be postponed if their health condition does not allow, which applies to people who suffer from serious health problems or their lives are at risk in case of deportation.
The names of people who arrive in the country via small boats will be placed on a “black list”, so that they are prevented from returning to Britain even if in a legal way, as well as depriving them of requesting British citizenship in the future. Across the sea channel he will be arrested and then deported.
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Claire Mosley, founder of Care4calais, a British refugee advocacy organization, described Sunak's plan as "unworkable and shocking".
And the human rights activist confirmed, in contact with Al-Jazeera Net, that this plan "will not change anything from reality, so how can we deal with the thousands who are currently in Calais (the entry point for immigrants from France), and it is certain that they will cross at any moment into Britain?"
Mosley said that previous experiences confirmed that any plans for prevention and arrest "always fail because it is difficult for the Ministry of Interior to arrest all of these people and organize their deportation."
"If the purpose is to intimidate, then this is also a failed bet, because these people have no choice but to cross into Britain," she added.
Mosley did not find an explanation for what the British government was doing except that "this government does not want refugees in the country," expressing her confidence that Sunak's plan will be confronted in the courts, "and I think it will be easy to drop this law, because of its vague and unclear terms and requirements." .
The British human rights activist criticized her government's lack of seriousness in dealing with many proposals to deal with the refugee file, and said, "We worked with a conglomerate of human rights and legal institutions on a plan to solve the issue of immigrants coming from Calais, France, and to decide on their files within two weeks, and all the studies we had indicated their success, Unfortunately, the government refused to look into it and did not discuss the matter with us."
French police officers help migrants on their way to Britain, and their flow causes a crisis between the two countries (French)
Wait for the tragedy
For his part, James Wilson, director of Detention Action, which works in the field of protecting the rights of asylum seekers, expected that the system would contribute to aggravating the file of asylum seekers in Britain and would not solve it.
The British jurist confirmed in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net that the current plan of the British government will increase the number of detainees in the centers for asylum seekers 10 times, which is a "worrying indicator because the conditions of asylum seekers will worsen inside these centers."
Wilson stressed that this plan is a real denial of people's right to asylum, which is guaranteed by all international covenants, adding that the British detention system against refugees "suffers from inhumane conditions, mistreatment and management, which appeared during the last period in more than one detention center," expecting The situation gets worse.
Wilson told the British government that it should listen to human rights advocates and deal with asylum seekers fairly and effectively, rather than abandoning them and leaving them to an unknown fate that "may endanger their lives."