DEFENDING DEMOCRACY IN EXILE Policy Responses to Transnational Repression Migration S ix of the top ten origin countries of asylum seekers in the UK— Iran, Eritrea, Syria, Sudan, Pakistan, and India—have track records of targeting exiles abroad.25 The new Nationality and Borders Act, which overhauls the migration system, fundamentally restricts the right to seek asylum and leaves refugees in an even more precarious situation. One bright spot in protecting against transnational repression is the UK’s strong protections against unlawful extradition. The Nationality and Borders Act became law in April 2022, making the migration system even more hostile to asylum seekers. Anti-asylum policy In the UK, asylum seekers are generally not allowed to work, their accommodations are poor, and they are given a meager stipend—as low as £6 ($7) per day.26 Without financial and physical resources, asylum seekers may be unable to take precautions to support their physical and digital security. They also may be unable or unwilling to contact authorities for fear of deportation. The Nationality and Borders Act became law in April 2022, making the migration system even more hostile to asylum seekers. Changes introduced by the act include an increased standard of proof for refugees, removal of certain stages of appeal, increased authority to revoke British citizenship, and a two-tier asylum system that reduces protection and support for those who arrive in the UK by “irregular” means, potentially assigning them criminal liability.27 Awareness about transnational repression and relevant information is lacking in the UK’s migration system. 6 @FreedomHouse The Nationality and Borders Act continues a trend of policies that undermine the right to seek asylum and endeavor to keep asylum seekers out of the UK, at the expense of their safety. Prior to leaving the EU, the UK was able to return some asylum seekers to other EU countries under the Dublin system, which required refugees to seek asylum in the first “safe” country they reached. As an island on the far side of the continent, the UK frequently used the Dublin agreement to return asylum seekers who reached its shores by way of mainland Europe. Without a return agreement in place with the EU when the UK left the bloc, the number of asylum seekers deported to Europe plummeted from 289 in 2020 to 5 in 2021.28 Reporting in 2017 found that the UK, along with European partners, was engaged in a rapprochement with the Sudanese government and was relaxing standards for deporting Sudanese asylum seekers, despite the government’s record of atrocities.29 After European governments refused the UK’s effort to establish a post-Brexit return agreement with the EU,30 the UK announced a new solution in April 2022: certain asylum seekers would be deported to Rwanda.31 The plan, which the Nationality and Borders Act put into effect, may violate migrants’ right to seek asylum in the country that they reach. It also disregards Rwanda’s poor domestic record on human rights and its status as one of the world’s most prodigious perpetrators of transnational repression, including against UK residents.32 Preparedness within the migration system Awareness about transnational repression and relevant information is lacking in the UK’s migration system. The Home Office produces “country policy and information notes,” which are used by officials in asylum decisions. There is an independent, external body that provides oversight of these documents, but its power is limited in practice. The information provided by these notes is extremely limited and often focuses on specific issues or groups. For example, the Russia page includes two documents, one from 2020 offering guidance on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, and the other on Jehovah’s Witnesses. There is no other information about the rights violations people in Russia experience, or the risks they may face abroad, despite the high-profile Russian assassination attempts in the UK. Country notes are entirely absent for numerous perpetrators of transnational repression, including Bahrain, Belarus, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and others. #TransnationalRepression