Lord Boateng
Main Page: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Boateng's debates with the Home Office
(1 week ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)
The Government believe, and I know that the noble Lord will share this belief, that the proposals in the guidance are compliant with our international obligations. It is an essential matter of government policy that we meet our international obligations. We believe that the Article 31 obligations are met by the proposals announced by my right honourable friend the Home Secretary on Monday of this week.
Lord Boateng (Lab)
My Lords, having been a Minister in the Home Office responsible for law enforcement, I have a great deal of sympathy with and support for the Minister. However, law enforcement means enforcing international law. I have in front of me Article 34 of the convention, which we have signed. It is very clear that:
“The Contracting States shall as far as possible facilitate”—
I emphasise the term “facilitate”—
“the assimilation and naturalization of refugees”.
How is what the Minister proposes, and what this rule change implements, consistent with the term facilitation? If it is not, are we now going to withdraw from all or any part of the convention?
Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)
The Government are not going to withdraw from the convention. The Government support the convention and believe that the proposals referred to in this Private Notice Question are compliant with it. Nothing in the proposals today stops any individual applying for British citizenship, however they have arrived in the United Kingdom. But the presumption is that those who have arrived illegally will find their application turned down, unless they can provide a range of circumstances which are exceptional, compelling and mitigating, and where the Secretary of State may therefore choose to apply discretion to grant citizenship on an exceptional basis. I believe, as does my right honourable friend the Home Secretary, that that is compliant with our international obligations and, at the same time, examines what is an illegal route to the United Kingdom.