A range of measures in the Nationality and Borders Act (NABA) are now in force, giving the Government new powers to tackle criminality, secure our borders and deter people from making these dangerous journeys.

The Nationality and Borders Act, which received Royal Assent in April, will radically reform our broken system to better support those in genuine need of asylum through safe and legal routes and break the business model of trafficking networks.

From today, a raft of measures will take effect, including:

• Tougher penalties for those who pilot a small boat or smuggle migrants into the UK via other dangerous or illegal means, with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment
• Increasing the maximum penalty for illegally entering the UK or overstaying a visa from six months to four years imprisonment
• Introduction of a new differentiated approach, whereby those who did not come to the UK directly, did not claim without delay, or did not show good cause for their illegal entry or presence, may be given a different set of entitlements than those who have complied with these requirements, including a shorter grant of permission to stay (a minimum of 30 months instead of 5 years)
• New powers for immigration officers to search containers taken off the ship or aircraft on which they arrived for illegal migrants
• Removing Foreign National Offenders currently held in our prisons sooner by having tougher criteria for those with a criminal history and seeking asylum, meaning offenders can now be removed up to 12 months before the end of the custodial part of their sentence
• An ability to impose visa penalties – this means slowing or stopping our services where countries pose a risk to international peace and security and those that refuse to take back their own citizens who have no right to be in the UK

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

This is one of the most crucial milestones in delivering on our promise to the British public to take back control of our borders.

While there is no single solution to the global migration crisis, these reforms which come into effect today play a vital role in overhauling the broken asylum system as we put our New Plan for Immigration into action.

We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that we offer protection and sanctuary to those in genuine need; but these new measures will enable us to crack down on abuse of the system and the evil people-smugglers, who will now be subject to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment as a result of this law coming into force.

In addition, the Nationality and Borders Act will fix anomalies in UK nationality laws which have denied British nationality to some children of British Overseas Territory citizens.

For instance, before 1 January 1983 women with British Overseas Territory citizenship could not pass on British nationality to children born outside the UK and its territories. Similarly, before 1 July 2006 children born to unmarried British Overseas Territory fathers could not acquire British nationality through their father.

Today, the Home Office is also launching citizenship routes for all those denied citizenship by these anomalies.

The Nationality and Borders Act will scrap outdated rules requiring children born outside an Overseas Territory to British Overseas Territory citizen parents to be registered within 12 months of their birth in order to qualify for citizenship.

Other measures in the act which became law in April, will be implemented over the coming months and into next year.

Thank you, Mr President.

State-backed disinformation and the systematic manipulation of information in the digital age presents a fundamental challenge to the enjoyment and realisation of human rights.

States that engage in disinformation campaigns deploy overly broad laws, extensive censorship and internet shutdowns. They suppress legitimate expression and prevent the free flow of information, the countering of false narratives and fact-checking efforts.

Disinformation and hate speech has paved the way for war crimes, atrocities and genocide, from the Holocaust to Rwanda to Bosnia. The current Russian disinformation directed towards Ukraine and Ukrainians is profoundly disturbing.

The Kremlin has fed Russian citizens a steady stream of propaganda seeking to dehumanise Ukrainians since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. This has intensified following the failing full scale invasion. The Kremlin’s propaganda machine has: pushed outlandish claims that Ukraine is controlled by neo-Nazis; run a disinformation campaign to deflect responsibility for the war crimes its forces committed in Bucha, calling it an ‘attack of fakes’ despite clear evidence to the contrary; and, while preventing exports of grain by blockading Ukrainian ports, sought to obfuscate Russia’s culpability for holding the world’s food supply to ransom in an attempt to get sanctions eased.

And in Russia, the Kremlin has legislated against references to ‘war’ or ‘invasion’, closed Russia’s independent press, prevented protests from taking place, stopped access to social media and arrested individuals for telling the truth.

A free, independent, plural and diverse media is the best antidote to disinformation.

Panellists, how can States work with the private sector to ensure a rights based approach to tackling disinformation?

Thank you.

On a two-day visit to North West Wales with Ynys Môn MP Virginia Crosbie, the minister urged local organisations to look at ways to make themselves more accessible to the disabled community, after seeing inclusive sports clubs in Anglesey.

During her time in Wales, the minister took part in a training session with the Anglesey Hawks Wheelchair Basketball Club in Holyhead and visited the Anglesey Group of Ynys Mon Riding For The Disabled, meeting one of their blind dressage riders.

The Minister made her visit as the figures show there are 1.3 million more disabled people in employment since 2017, with employers across the UK creating more inclusive and diverse workforces through government schemes like Access to Work and Disability Confident. The minister spoke to the organisations she met about how including people with disabilities in work and leisure benefits the wider community.

Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Chloe Smith MP said:

Disabled people deserve the same opportunities as everyone else and I urge all Welsh sporting organisations and clubs, big or small, to be more inclusive of everyone in their wider community.

Both the Anglesey Hawks and Anglesey Riding Centre are two wonderful examples of inclusive organisations and it was a delight to see how they are harnessing the power of sport and physical activity, excluding no one.

Exercise can have a transformative effect on both your physical and mental health and it is imperative there is equal access for everyone.

Virginia Crosbie MP said:

I am really pleased the minister was able to visit these two excellent Ynys Môn sports organisations.

It is vital our communities are active whatever their age, skill level or disability and that there is access for all.

Being active helps with general health, it prevents a host of illnesses as well as keeping people fit.

These two organisations are beacons on the island for inclusive sporting activities and I thank them for allowing myself and the minister to visit and meet staff and members.

The Anglesey Hawks Wheelchair Basketball Club was set up in 2014 and train weekly at Holyhead Leisure Centre. The club has players of all ages and both disabled and able bodied, playing equally together. The club also supports players who aspire to play at a national level, with some current members having represented Wales and multiple members playing for Wheelchair Basketball North Wales.

Anglesey Hawks Head Coach Charlie MacPherson said:

We were excited to welcome the Minister for Disabled People to our club, to meet some of our members and have a go at sport that really does change lives.

The Anglesey group of Ynys Mon Riding for the Disabled is celebrating its official 50th birthday in October. The charity provides therapeutic and learning opportunities for both children and adults with physical and learning challenges. It also supports many riders who have competitive aspirations, with one of their riders representing Wales at the British Dressage Para Home International.

Sara Jones-Williams, chair of Ynys Môn RDA (Anglesey) Group said:

As a lifelong volunteer with the Ynys Môn RDA (Anglesey) Group, I am inspired by the riders, volunteers and local people who assist the group to achieve the RDA UK strapline #itswhatyoucandothatcounts.

Providing physical, social and life skills to riders whilst engaging with the bigger community, has helped many of the riders we support in many aspects of their daily life as well as achieving some impressive results within their competitive aspirations.  Every rider has a journey and that journey is equally important to them and the group.

As part of her two-day visit to Wales, the minister also visited Tyddyn Môn in Brynrefail.

The charity employs 60 local people and supports 50 adults with a learning disability on Anglesey. It provides 24-hour care and support for 24 of these people in seven supported living houses across Anglesey. Another group attend the day and work opportunities service based at Tyddyn Môn farm, where the charity provides work-based training and work experience through a number of social enterprises, in addition to wellbeing activities.

During her visit, the minister attended a practice of the charity’s music group, as well as separate cooking and pottery sessions.

Dr Michelle Freeman, CEO of Tyddyn Môn said:

It was a pleasure to welcome the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Chloe Smith MP, to the charity farm.

The people supported by the charity enjoyed showcasing the good work they are doing in the social enterprises on the farm and in the local community.

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Mr President, I would like to thank Albania as Chair of the Informal Working Group for their excellent stewardship of this important topic.  I also thank our briefers for their reflections on the Council’s working methods.

President, as we emerge from Covid virtual working methods, it is welcome that we are back to full participation in open debates like this, to remain connected with the wider UN membership.  And, I agree with my Russian colleague, my US colleague and others who say that we really value in-person meetings — although we managed well through the period of virtual working. Still, we have more to do to ensure the Council stays effective and efficient.

Our vision remains that the Council is able to solve problems though interactive debate, building consensus, responsible pen-holdership, and making decisions that have real impact on the ground.  Sometimes, that means discussion in private not public, and we look forward to a full return to the consultations room.

On pen-holding, there is a longstanding convention of pen-holding to support consistency. But, as we have seen and heard, it is a flexible practice, as Ms Sievers said, and that we, the UK, have shared with Germany on UNITAMS, and we now share with Gabon on UNOCA.

It means being responsive to prevent conflict or deter escalation, and discussing issues even if uncomfortable for some. But all Council members have a responsibility to uphold the UN Charter.  The GA resolution 76/262 on the veto, that we co-sponsored, is a welcome step in ensuring transparency and accountability when a member of the Council blocks action to maintain international peace and security — for example, as we saw  on DPRK.

President, we also need to do more to ensure that we are using the Council’s time efficiently. That means respecting the Council’s mandate, not using it as a platform for propaganda and misinformation.

Sadly, Russia has done just that, consistently, since its illegal invasion of Ukraine. It still denies this is a war, even as its missiles continue to rain down on civilian targets.

With respect to the Russian Federation’s allegations about our pen-holding on Libya, I made clear in the Council yesterday, our national position, shared by many others, that withdrawal of the Wagner Group mercenaries is an essential part of making progress in Libya. And on Yemen, I simply note that this is one file where we have made progress this year, since the start of the year, thanks to work of Members of this Council, countries of the region and the UN — the hard won truce is holding.

President, if we are discussing procedure today, we should look at the founding rules of the UN.

Regrettably, the real challenge for the functioning of this Council is that a permanent member has torn up the UN Charter and invaded a sovereign neighbour.  The global impacts are profound and affecting many of those issues on which the Council is seized.

I am sure we will hear from Member States today about their concerns about divisions in the Council.  It will not be adjusted working methods that resolves this, but an end to Russia’s illegal war.

Thank you.