UN rebukes Suella Braverman over her attack on
refugee convention
UNHCR defends 1951 convention after UK home
secretary’s speech on ‘uncontrolled and illegal migration’
Rajeev Syal
and Ben Quinn
Tue 26 Sep
2023 20.51 CEST
The UN’s
refugee agency has rebuked Suella Braverman after she claimed that world
leaders had failed to make wholesale reform of human rights laws because of
fears of being branded “racist or illiberal”.
The UNHCR
issued a highly unusual statement on Tuesday defending the 1951 refugee
convention and highlighting the UK’s record asylum claim backlog.
It came
after the home secretary refused to rule out leaving the convention and said
the international community had “collectively failed” to modernise
international laws.
She also
claimed that women and gay people must face more than discrimination if they
are to qualify as a refugee – a statement that has been challenged by refugee
charities.
Speaking to
the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC, Braverman claimed the
international community had failed to reform the UN’s refugee convention of
1951 and the European convention on human rights (ECHR).
“The first
[reason] is simply that it is very hard to renegotiate these instruments. The
second is much more cynical. The fear of being branded a racist or illiberal.
Any attempt to reform the refugee convention will see you smeared as
anti-refugee,” she said.
She began
her speech by claiming that uncontrolled and illegal migration posed an
“existential challenge” to Europe and the US.
“I’m here
in America to talk about a critical and shared global challenge: uncontrolled
and illegal migration,” she said. “It is an existential challenge for the
political and cultural institutions of the west.”
She claimed
case law arising from the refugee convention had lowered the threshold so that
asylum seekers needed only prove that they faced discrimination instead of a
real risk of torture, death or violence.
“Where
individuals are being persecuted, it is right that we offer sanctuary. But we
will not be able to sustain an asylum system if, in effect, simply being gay,
or a woman, and fearful of discrimination in your country of origin is
sufficient to qualify for protection.”
Asked after
the speech whether the UK would consider leaving the convention if changes were
not delivered, Braverman said the government would do “whatever is required” to
tackle the issue of migrants arriving via unauthorised routes.
She said:
“The prime minister himself has said we will do whatever it takes to stop the
boats and that is my position.”
In a
statement, the UNHCR backed the convention and questioned Braverman’s
distinction between persecution and discrimination.
“The
refugee convention remains as relevant today as when it was adopted. Where
individuals are at risk of persecution on the basis of their sexual orientation
or gender identity, it is crucial that they are able to seek safety and
protection,” it said.
Rejecting
an overhaul of the convention, the UNHCR called for a “more consistent
application of the convention and its underlying principle of
responsibility-sharing” and pointedly referred to the UK’s asylum backlog,
which was more than 175,000 last month.
“An
appropriate response to the increase in arrivals and to the UK’s current asylum
backlog would include strengthening and expediting decision-making procedures,”
the statement said.
Responding
to the speech, the Refugee Council, which works closely with asylum seekers,
questioned Braverman’s claim that there was a lower bar to being granted asylum
on the grounds of discrimination.
Jon
Featonby, the charity’s chief policy analyst, said: “In our work with people in
the asylum system, we have seen no evidence that Home Office decision-makers
are lowering the threshold for asylum so that a well-founded fear of
persecution is replaced with discrimination. The home secretary’s claims do not
appear to be grounded in credible evidence.”
ActionAid
UK said seeking asylum was the only lifeline left for the many women and girls
its dealt with who were fleeing persecution. The charity’s chief executive,
Halima Begum, said: “Denying this fundamental right is not just a policy
choice; it’s a direct affront to gender equality and human rights.”
Andrew
Boff, a Conservative London assembly member and patron of the LGBT+
Conservative group, said Braverman should stop engaging in “dog-whistle”
politics and focus on the “basket case” that was her department.
“Talking
about the victims of persecution as if they are the problem is incredibly
unhelpful and really paints us as an uncaring party. I’m deeply unhappy with
it,” he said.
The
4,497-word speech came after two days of headlines about Braverman’s three-day
visit to the US during which she is expected to meet representatives of the
Biden administration.
Braverman
held back from calling for the UK to leave the ECHR – a move that friends say
she would like to see in a Conservative election manifesto – but said leaving
human rights conventions had been supported by previous Tory leaders.
“As home
secretary, Theresa May called for Britain to leave the ECHR. And it was
Conservative party policy under Michael Howard to leave the refugee convention
– I’m merely advocating for reform,” she said.
A former
Tory cabinet minister told the Guardian that Braverman was making a “cynical
pitch” to gain support before the Conservative party’s annual conference, which
begins this weekend.
“The home
secretary has created a row to obscure her poor record in office given she has
a stalled Rwanda scheme, a stalled barge for migrants, and a mutinous police
force,” the former minister said.
As she left
the thinktank’s venue, Braverman ignored a question from a reporter asking
whether her speech had been designed to improve her chances of becoming
Conservative leader.
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