On Monday, the Government announced the beginning of its ‘one-in-one-out’ treaty with France, a deal that will see people who’ve crossed the Channel deported back to France, whilst some people seeking asylum in France will be able to apply to enter the UK.
This deal continues an ongoing pattern of criminalising people who’ve exercised their legal right to seek asylum, including to travel irregularly to do so. It continues the escalation of deadly violence in our Channel, it ignores the Refugee Convention and it represents yet another failed opportunity to create real safe routes for those who need them.
Louise Calvey, Executive Director at Asylum Matters, said:
“The ‘one-in-one-out’ plan is yet another attack on the human right to seek sanctuary. In reinforcing the criminalisation of people exercising their legal right to seek asylum, our Government continues to ignore the Refugee Convention – which permits travel by irregular means to seek sanctuary – and punish people for using the only means available to them to reach safety.
It’s a grubby trade in human lives that will do nothing more than remove people from this country back into the hands of people smugglers. It will send them back to French shores where they’ll face escalating police violence: boats being slashed with families onboard, children being teargassed, violence which we know makes Channel crossings even more dangerous.
We don’t need another convoluted Rwanda-style gimmick that forces some people to risk their lives while a select few are deemed worthy of protection.
It’s yet another example of our government refusing to adopt the only policy that will save lives: safe and accessible routes for all who need them.”
