SW News: According to the UK's equality watchdog, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's most notable asylum legislation risks violating international commitments to defend human rights. The PM's flagship bill aimed at curbing cross-Channel migration risks breaching international human rights law and could endanger vulnerable people.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) argued the unlawful immigration bill would undermine protections for victims of trafficking and restrict rights to asylum in an uncommon intervention before the Commons report stage of the legislation on Tuesday.

The watchdog published the briefing ahead of the House of Commons Report Stage on the bill raising concerns over the equality and human rights implications.

The EHRC is a non-departmental public organization that supports and maintains the laws and principles of equality and human rights in England, Scotland, and Wales. Sunak introduced the Illegal Migration Bill in March to lessen the number of people who risk their lives traveling in small boats from French to British beaches.

According to the watchdog, the legislation undermines the core principle of the universality of human rights. It removes protections for victims of trafficking and modern slavery. The EHRC further claimed that the bill would also permit the confinement of pregnant women and children and ignore the effects on torture victims and individuals with disabilities. The watchdog reported that the bill "risks breaching the Refugee Convention by restricting the right to asylum and penalizing refugees."

The government had laid down nine new provisions and 136 amendments to the bill for MPs to examine, which was deemed undemocratic. However, the opponents applauded the government's commitment to expanding safe routes for persons seeking refuge to enter the UK. In a bill modification, the government pledged to outline the specifics of all safe and legal routes and any suggestions for new ones.