Clause 11 - Unfounded human rights or asylum claim
Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill
9:10 am
Ms Beverley Hughes (Minister of State (Citizenship and Immigration), Home Office; Stretford and Urmston, Labour)
Before I deal with the amendment, it may be helpful to make some general comments about clause 11. It provides for a relatively modest extension of the powers in section 94 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, under which a state or part of a state can be designated as safe if certain conditions are met. Hon. Members may
be aware that there are two tests for that. One is that there is, in general, no serious risk of persecution of those entitled to reside in the state. We are talking about that issue now, rather than a safe third country, to which the next clause relates. The other test is that removal of a person entitled to reside in the state would not, in general, contravene our obligations under the European convention on human rights.
Since section 94 came into force, 14 states have been designated by order under that provision. Those are in addition to the 10 EU accession states included in the 2002 Act, which a later amendment to clause 11 would remove. Designating a country does not mean that a person's asylum or human rights claim will not be considered on its merits. Every claim is given an individual assessment, taking account of all the facts, but if a claim is refused—this is the law we have now—it must be certified as clearly unfounded, unless the Secretary State is satisfied that it is not. Such a certification prevents a person from lodging an appeal until they have left the United Kingdom. These provisions have been working extremely well.