21/06/2023 Session
PACE is urging the United Kingdom government and parliament to carefully consider the content of provisions of the Illegal Migration Bill and Bill of Rights Bill that – were they to enter into force – “could risk placing the UK in breach of its international obligations”.
In a resolution on human rights reform in the UK, based on a report by Kamal Jafarov (Azerbaijan, EC/DA), the Assembly said there was “an increased willingness on the part of the UK Government, and certain legislators, to legislate in a way which could risk breaching the UK’s international legal obligations and thus the rule of law. The Assembly is extremely concerned at such developments, and in particular what signal they may send both domestically and internationally.”
The parliamentarians urged careful consideration of the content of provisions of the Illegal Migration Bill relating to the rights of refugees and stateless persons, including children and victims of modern slavery, as well as due process and appeal rights, and the Strasbourg Court’s interim measures. There was a risk that both Bills would lead to increased “legal uncertainty” and conflict between UK domestic law and the Convention, they said.
The Assembly also said the UK’s system for giving effect to the European Convention on Human Rights through the operation of the Human Rights Act was, in many respects, “an excellent example of an effective domestic mechanism” which respected the separation of powers – and it would be “regrettable” were the UK to dispense with such an excellent system, which has led to the country having one of the lowest findings of violations, per capita, of any State bound by the Convention.
While the UK had processes in place to consider the human rights and rule of law consequences of draft laws, further thought could be given to ensuring these processes “benefit from sufficient independence, transparency and due consideration”, the parliamentarians said.