Thread by @stand_for_all

THREAD: With so much going on, partly to do with #Ukraine, but also related to the #NationalityandBordersBill, and no small amount of confusion and misinformation, I thought it may be helpful to do a thread explaining some bits and bobs. 1/

First off, the primary piece of legislation in international law governing refugee rights the the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and it is fairly clear a refugee may not be penalised for their manner of entry into a state. 2/
unhcr.org/uk/3b66c2aa10

In essence this means someone seeking asylum doesn't need a visa for the country they seek it in. Obviously things aren't so clear cut. Visas make it a lot easier to reach a country in the first place for one thing. Problem is they are hard to get when fleeing for your life. 3/

We have seen in Ukraine that, despite claims from the government to the contrary, that it has been made increasingly hard for people to get a visa for the UK. A simple solution would be to remove visa requirements entirely though. 4/
ft.com/content/928ad8…

We saw similar for example in Afghanistan with the struggles to get visas processed in time which left people stranded, because those visas help provide them with a way to get out of the country. 5/
standard.co.uk/news/world/uk-…

Why, despite international law making it clear that refugees can enter a country via any means, does having a visa make such a difference? Well because without them your ability to actually travel is fairly limited due to "carrier liability fines". 6/

legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1999/33/…

Carriers can face heavy fines, and even in some circumstances criminal penalties, if they transport someone who seeks asylum. People can be removed from flights if it is believed that they will do so. So obviously visas are how you can travel safely. 7/

As has been seen for example with Tom Pursglove's written answer, linked, the other issue is that when people enter the UK without visas, or through government approved routes, they are dismissed as not being "genuine refugees". 8/

theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2022…

This is something which the #NationalityandBordersBill being pushed through by the government is deliberately intended to make worse, by effectively criminalising asylum seekers. 9/
unhcr.org/uk/uk-immigrat…

Also there is no requirement for people seeking asylum to do so in the "first safe country". In fact, there is "no obligation under international law for a person to seek international protection at
the first effective opportunity" 10/
refworld.org/docid/3fe9981e…

Why travel through a "safe country" though? Because people seek safety in countries for highly personal reasons, notably language and family ties, meaning a country which may be safe for you or I to go may not considered safe to rebuild their lives. 11/
inews.co.uk/news/migrants-…

The situation facing Ukrainian citizens is the same as that faced by refugees from multiple countries, including Afghanistan, Yemen, Eritrea etc etc. The UK has unilaterally decided that anyone not entering through "official routes" can't be an "genuine refugee". 12/

People fleeing a war can't stick around to fill in complicated forms, even if they were able to get access to somewhere to do so, which, as per the government's own information, the majority do not. 13/
gov.uk/guidance/suppo…

Automatically removing carrier liability fines and dropping visa requirements for anyone seeking asylum would do significantly more to reduce channel crossings than anything in the #BordersBill, which is liable to actually make things worse for refugees. 14/

What about the potential increase in numbers of people seeking asylum though? Well, the UK currently takes significantly fewer refugees, particularly when measured per head of population, than many other countries in Europe. 15/
unhcr.org/uk/asylum-in-t….

The UK is not, despite, again, government claims to the contrary, a prime destination for refugees. It has far fewer measures in place to provide support for asylum seekers than other countries and just isn't that high on people's wishlists. 16/

We are currently seeing the number of people leaving Ukraine rising, for obvious reasons, but this is the start of the situation and it would be unwise to hypothesise too much on this. Majority of those leaving their country of origin aim to return. 17/

https://twitter.com/FilippoGrandi/status/1497912426876092420?s=20&t=Ns2OSdJ9j3U4kZ6_z93ZVQ

There are reports of the potential for millions of refugees leaving Ukraine, but this is a fairly good example of "big numbers little context". We don't know right now how many people will seek asylum. We don't know how long the situation will last. 18/

theguardian.com/world/2022/feb…

What we do know, and we know from other displacement situations, such as Syria et al, is people cannot just be abandoned. All states need to focus on providing protection and safety, not deliberately excluding refugees, as the UK is currently doing and looking to make worse. 19/