Priti Patel’s plans for UK offshore immigration centres risk legal challenges

Plans for offshore immigration centres to be announced by the UK Home Secretary Priti Patel next week could face legal challenges, according to reports. 

Human rights charity Freedom from Torture accused the Home Office of breaking international law as well as the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and commissioned a legal opinion on Patel’s plans for immigration reform. 

The 70-page document, seen by the Financial Times, criticised the government’s new laws. They are "inconsistent with the UK's obligations under Article 31 of the Refugee Convention," a barrister wrote.  

This government's cruel new plans for refugees could breach international law and the 1951 Refugee Convention.

We should know - we commissioned a legal opinion on it.

Read more in @ft ⬇️ https://t.co/AJaFJGMzwQ

— Freedom from Torture (@FreefromTorture) June 28, 2021

Most asylum claims in the UK are made by individuals arriving illegally when fleeing persecution. While the UN Refugee Convention states "refugees should not be penalised for their illegal entry or stay," the Home Office’s New Plan for Immigration will "criminalise people who attempt or manage to reach the UK irregularly," according to Freedom from Torture. 

The plans to put asylum seekers in offshore centres, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Patel have "warmed" to, follow reports that Home Office ministers met with Danish officials about the "potential" to share a processing centre abroad, reported The Times on Monday. 

Denmark recently signed an agreement with the Rwandan government which could potentially lead to migrants being held in centres in Africa, according to Amnesty International. 

Freedom from Torture's policy and advocacy director, Steve Crawshaw said: "It beggars belief that the government seems determined to plough ahead regardless". 

The charity's Chief Executive, Sonya Sceats, sent a statement to The New Arab on Monday slamming the centres as "ludicrously impractical" and "cruel". 

When contacted by The New Arab, the Home Office said there were no plans with Denmark for an offshore immigration centre located in Africa. 

However, the department has not ruled out making the provision, according to reports.  
One Whitehall official quoted in the FT said it was "no secret" the government would like to pursue such an option.