This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Petition Leave the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol & revoke the Immigration Act
UK to leave the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. Along with removing the Immigration Act 1999 from UK law. Responsibility of government in a democracy is to protect and safeguard the lives of its citizens. We believe the Government is failing alarmingly to Keep British citizens safe.
More details
Asylum seekers travel across multiple oceans and multiple safe countries. The UK already has millions unemployed, 280,000 people homeless; sofa serving not in stable accommodation, tens of thousands sleeping rough (Big Issue). In 2019/20 approximately 1.9 million people used a foodbank (Trussell Trust).
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months
Government responded
This response was given on 26 May 2021
The Government is committed to the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol and has no plans to repeal the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. We are planning widespread reform of the asylum system.
Read the response in full
The UK has a long and proud history of providing protection to those that need it. The 1951 UN Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol are the cornerstone of this proud history, and the Government is committed to upholding our international obligations.
The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 is a significant piece of legislation that governs large parts of the immigration system and there are no plans to remove it from UK law. That is not to say it cannot be amended and reformed should that be necessary.
We recognise the challenge of illegal migration and are committed to comprehensive reform of our asylum system. The Government’s proposed changes were outlined in the recent New Plan for Immigration policy statement, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/new-plan-for-immigration
The consultation period has now closed, and the Government will reflect on the findings before bringing forward legislation to deliver on its commitments.
Home Office
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Watch the debate (starting some time after 3pm on Mon 19 July): https://parliamentlive.tv/Commons
Read the debate transcript (available a few hours after the debate has finished): https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-07-20
Read the Bill: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-02/0141/210141.pdf
Read the Bill's explanatory notes: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-02/0141/en/210141en.pdf
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