The United Kingdom is also considering setting up offshore processing centers for migrants and asylum seekers, possibly in Africa. According to several British media outlets, British Home Secretary Priti Patel is expected to present a bill to this effect next week.
It will be the second country after Denmark to adopt such a law. The Scandinavian country, which has one of the strictest immigration systems in the EU, is in discussions with Rwanda, a possible host country for this asylum center in Africa. Moreover, the British minister is currently in talks with Denmark to collaborate on this matter.
It should be noted that the practice of relocating asylum requests, which has been put in place by Australia, has already been criticized by several human rights organizations, and multilateral bodies, in particular the UN. “We urge the United Kingdom (and other countries) to refrain from these practices,” Rossella Pagliuchi-Lor, the British representative of the UNHCR, told the Guardian. “These obligations cannot be outsourced and transferred without effective safeguards being put in place, both in law and in practice.”
No firm plan has yet been announced by the British side.
“We have looked at what other countries are doing to discourage illegal immigration and this work continues,” said a representative of the Home Office. “We are not ruling out any option that could help reduce illegal immigration and relieve the pressure on the failing asylum system.”
In addition to Rwanda, the island of Gibraltar, a British overseas territory, and the Isle of Man, a Crown dependency, were mentioned by officials, according to London daily The Times.