Recommendation 19

The designation of third states as safe “in general”, in the absence of any individualised assessments of risk, is not an adequate safeguard against refoulement. The approach in the Bill runs a very real risk of breaching the prohibition on refoulement, especially for specific groups such as women and girls, religious minorities, LGBTQI+ individuals, and torture survivors. If clause 5 remains in the Bill, it must be amended to ensure that any removals of individuals to ‘safe third states’ must be subject to individualised assessments of risk to guard against refoulement and onward refoulement (see Annex, Amendment 12). (Paragraph 169) Legislative Scrutiny: Illegal Migration Bill 123