The United Kingdom adopted on Tuesday July 18 a law which restricts the right of asylum. At the same time, a strange barge docked in the south of England: it must accommodate 500 migrants.
This barge arrived on Tuesday July 18, towed by a small boat to the port of Portland, in the county of Dorset, in the south of England. This barge is called Bibby Stokholm and it is called a “floatel”, literally, a “floating hotel”. With these 222 rooms with faded gray and red walls, this building with sad architecture which will welcome from this summer 500 asylum seekers, already on British territory and awaiting papers. Around 50 will arrive as early as next week, says the UK Home Office.
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Bibby Stockholm was already used by the Netherlands in 2005 to house migrants. This time, it’s London that uses it to “save money”. Bibby Stockholm would indeed reduce the cost of the accommodation in which the refugees wait: the British government currently pays 7 million euros a day to house the migrants. A figure contradicted by human rights NGOs who denounce the use of a “prison boat”.
A restrictive law
This barge arrives – coincidence of the calendar – at a time when the British government is restricting the rights of migrants even more. On Tuesday, after long debates, Parliament passed a very controversial law against illegal immigration: migrants who now arrive illegally will no longer be able to apply for asylum.
The government accuses refugees who arrive illegally of “skip the queue” of those who arrive by safer routes. The NGOs respond that “those who have fled the war do not have access to documents such as passports”. The government also wants migrants, after being detained, be quickly deported, either to their country of origin or to a third country. The UN strongly criticizes this law, “in contradiction“with international human rights and refugee law to which the UK has obligations.
45,000 arrivals in one year
Since coming to power, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made the fight against illegal migration his priority. He particularly focused on the crossings of the English Channel by small boats. 45,000 people in 2022 and 13,000 since the start of this year.
For UK Home Secretary Simon Murray, the number of small boat arrivals has “overwhelmed” the British asylum system. For the NGO Refugee Council, Tuesday was a “dark day” for the United Kingdom, which only postpones the problem of reception. According to the NGO, in the first three years, this law will throw 200,000 people into uncertainty, without resources or detained.