Trafficking survivors are being failed by inhumane border and migration policies
From Miriam Kamali, Freedom United
| Trafficking survivors are being failed by inhumane border and migration policies. In the U.K., the controversial Refugee Ban Bill would make it harder for people to seek asylum in the country, even if they’re trafficking victims. Not in our name. The Refugee Ban Bill is rapidly making its way through the House of Lords so we must act now. Add your name to the petition today! We will send this petition to Lord Murray of Blidworth who co-sponsored the bill and let him know that we are against this devastating law. |
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Under this proposed legislation anyone who reaches the U.K. through an irregular route would be barred from claiming asylum, including trafficking victims. That means victims of modern slavery trafficked to the U.K. risk being overlooked by authorities, detained and deported right back to where they may be at risk of being trafficked again.
The good news is that 76 members of the House of Lords are already on our side. They tried to stop the Refugee Ban Bill in its tracks on the grounds that it undermines the rule of law and fails to provide safe routes for refugees.[2]
This law is so awful that the UN refugee agency has said it would go against international standards and that it is inconsistent with the U.K.’s obligations under the Refugee Convention.[1]
Just last week the UN refugee agency warned that trafficking victims are already being overlooked by authorities. Can you imagine how much worse it will be once migration policies become even more hostile?
We MUST oppose this. Sign the petition for safe migration to show just how many of us want a compassionate, humane migration system.
Not only does the Refugee Ban Bill ignore the fact that the majority of people needing to seek asylum in the U.K. must reach the country through an irregular route as there is no humanitarian visa that people can apply to, but it also fails to propose any alternative safe routes for people to reach the U.K.
We’re extremely concerned that this will create a point of vulnerabilitythat traffickers can then exploit, knowing that people migrating through dangerous routes without the required legal documentation are unlikely to report exploitation to the authorities given their insecure immigration status.
Together, we must keep demanding a humane and compassionate migration system, and hold governments accountable. The more of us that add our voices to the campaign, the harder we’ll be to ignore.
