The proposed ‘Illegal Migration Bill’, if enacted, would deny protection to potentially thousands of vulnerable people who have been trafficked and exploited, according to the analysis by publicly-funded independent body, the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy & Evidence Centre (Modern Slavery PEC). The analysis also finds the UK Government’s claims of ‘abuse’ of the modern slavery support system are not backed up by available evidence and concludes that the Bill is not compatible with the UK’s international obligations.
1. Denying protection to potentially thousands of people who experienced modern slavery.
The analysis concluded that the Bill, if enacted, would mean that potentially thousands of people who have been trafficked or experienced modern slavery would be left without protections from UK authorities, including people who are forced to enter the UK by their traffickers. Under the Bill’s measures, potential victims may be removed from the UK before they are conclusively identified as victims of modern slavery, impacting on their safety from traffickers and their recovery from exploitation.
Furthermore, penalising people affected by modern slavery with irregular immigration status would make it more difficult for people who are trafficked and escape to come forward to authorities, also undermining the police and legal system prosecuting the offenders.
Murray Hunt, Director of the Modern Slavery PEC said:
“Denying protection to people who there are reasonable ground to believe have been trafficked, based solely on how they entered the country, will undermine one of the central purposes of the UK’s system created to protect people from modern slavery.
“It will affect potentially thousands of people who were trafficked into the UK, providing traffickers with a powerful argument to control those they exploit, as people will not want to leave their traffickers if they know they’ll receive no protection.”
“Denying protection to people who there are reasonable ground to believe have been trafficked, based solely on how they entered the country, will undermine one of the central purposes of the UK’s system created to protect people from modern slavery."
Murray Hunt, Director of the Modern Slavery PEC
A person with lived experience of modern slavery, who doesn’t wish to be identified, said:
“From personal experience, it’s scary to know that people across the world are increasingly in more unstable conditions, which drive vulnerability to exploitation. Very often, what starts as a false promise of a better life, often turns into human trafficking as people land trapped by criminals.”
“By denying vulnerable people protection, with this proposed Bill, the Government is further harming the recovery of people that ought to be protected and supported, and handing power to traffickers. The Government should seek more input from survivors of trafficking to accurately understand the issue from their direct experiences and find better and more ethical solutions”.
“By denying vulnerable people protection, with this proposed Bill, the Government is further harming the recovery of people that ought to be protected and supported, and handing power to traffickers. The Government should seek more input from survivors of trafficking to accurately understand the issue from their direct experiences and find better and more ethical solutions”.
Person with lived experience of modern slavery
2. The evidence doesn’t support the claims of ‘abuse’ of modern slavery support system.
The analysis also found that available evidence doesn’t support the UK Government’s claims that the system created to support people affected by modern slavery is being increasingly ‘abused’, which it provides as part of the rationale for the Bill.
For example, Home Office Ministers have pointed to the increasing number of people referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) – the system for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery – when detained for immigration removal, as an indication of abuse. However, available data for this cohort shows that the Home Office determined there were reasonable grounds to believe that they are victims of modern slavery in 93% of cases (between January and September 2022). This compares to 88% of all people referred to the NRM in the same period receiving a positive reasonable grounds decision.
An increase in NRM referrals for people referred from detention for removal could be related to a range of factors including an increase in identification of victims by relevant agencies (for example for people who are forced into criminal exploitation being arrested and detained); improved functioning of safeguards (the ‘Adults at Risk in immigration detention’ policy); as well as an increase in survivor self-identification, for example by being able to access relevant legal advice or other support whilst in immigration detention.
Professor Alex Balch, Research Director at the Modern Slavery PEC said:
“There is, sadly, a very concerning conflation of different types of statistics in this debate. It is of particular concern that the misrepresentation of evidence informs the basis of sweeping legislative changes that will affect thousands of vulnerable people and compromise the system addressing modern slavery, rather than strengthening it.”
“There is, sadly, a very concerning conflation of different types of statistics in this debate. It is of particular concern that the misrepresentation of evidence informs the basis of sweeping legislative changes that will affect thousands of vulnerable people and compromise the system addressing modern slavery, rather than strengthening it.”
Professor Alex Balch, Research Director at the Modern Slavery PEC
3. The Bill’s modern slavery measures are incompatible with the UK’s international obligations.
The Modern Slavery PEC has also published a separate legal analysis, carried out by Dr Marija Jovanovic from the University of Essex, which concluded that the Bill would be incompatible with international law. Specifically, the modern slavery measures in the Bill would be incompatible with the UK’s obligations under Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which are part of UK law under the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), and its obligations in international law under the European Convention Against Trafficking (ECAT).
These international instruments place a duty on states to take operational measures to protect victims, or potential victims, and a procedural obligation to investigate potential situations of modern slavery and punish the perpetrators. They require that victims shouldn’t be removed from their territory until the identification process as victim has been completed by the competent authorities.
Dr Marija Jovanovic from the University of Essex said:
“The UK’s international obligations when it comes to modern slavery have one principle at heart: to protect people from being abused and exploited.
“The right not to be held in slavery or servitude in Article 4 of ECHR is one of the ‘absolute’ rights in the Convention, which cannot be derogated from, even in times of emergency.”
The Director of the Modern Slavery PEC Murray Hunt added:
“The Bill is incompatible with the UK’s obligations to protect victims of modern slavery and human trafficking under international human rights treaties that the UK has voluntarily agreed to. It will further undermine the UK’s reputation as a country that respects international law.”
“The right not to be held in slavery or servitude in Article 4 of ECHR is one of the ‘absolute’ rights in the Convention, which cannot be derogated from, even in times of emergency.”
Dr Marija Jovanovic, University of Essex, author of the legal analysis on the compatibility of the Illegal migration Bill with the UK's international obligations
The Modern Slavery PEC will be providing continued and further evidence-based analysis on the proposed Illegal Migration Bill as it progresses through the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
The full legal analysis and summary is available at https://modernslaverypec.org/resources/migration-bill-explainer.
Notes to Editor:
For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Modern Slavery PEC’s Communications Director Jakub Sobik at j.sobik@modernslaverypec.org or on 07912 145 610.
About the Modern Slavery PEC
The Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (Modern Slavery PEC) was created by the investment of public funding to enhance understanding of modern slavery and transform the effectiveness of law and policies designed to address it. The Centre commissions and co-creates high quality research with a focus on policy impact, and brings together academics, policymakers, businesses, civil society, survivors and the public on a scale not seen before in the UK to collaborate on solving this global challenge.
The Centre is a consortium of six academic organisations led by the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law and is funded by the Art and Humanities Research Council on behalf of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Read more about the Modern Slavery PEC at www.modernslaverypec.org.
About the National Referral Mechanism (NRM)
The current system for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery – the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) – is run by the Home Office. Potential victims are referred into the system by a first responder organisation, such as police, immigration authorities, local authorities and charities.
The case is then assessed in a two-stage process by the Home Office, which determines a case based on objective evidence such as police reports and medical records. During this period, victims are entitled to a recovery and reflection period which includes access to specialist support such as accommodation, legal representation or healthcare. The purpose of this period is also to recover and escape the influence of traffickers, as well as to give people time to consider working with authorities to investigate and prosecute criminals. Importantly, identification as a victim doesn’t automatically mean the right to remain in the UK: between April 2016 and June 2021, 7% confirmed victims of modern slavery who applied were granted leave to remain (447 out of 6,066). Being a victim of modern slavery may form part of person’s claim for asylum, which is a distinct legal process.
