UK - Rwanda asylum law: OHCHR - UNHCR
/
2:43
/
MP4
/
199.4 MB

Edited News | OHCHR , UNHCR

UK - Rwanda asylum law: OHCHR - UNHCR

UK-Rwanda asylum law likely to have harmful consequences, say UN High Commissioners
As the United Kingdom passed a controversial bill to send asylum seekers to Rwanda late on Monday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, and Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, jointly objected to the law's likely negative effects on global responsibility-sharing, human rights, and refugee protection.
“Filippo Grandi and Volker Türk are calling on the UK government to reconsider its plan to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda, and instead to take practical measures to address irregular flows of refugees and migrants based on international cooperation and respect for international human rights law,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) at a news briefing on Tuesday at the United Nations in Geneva.
The UK government has signed an agreement with Rwanda that would allow it to send asylum-seekers to the African country to have their cases decided.
“This new legislation seriously hinders the rule of law in the UK, and it sets a perilous precedent globally,” stressed Ms. Shamdasani. “It is critical to the protection of the human rights and dignity of refugees and migrants seeking protection that all removals from the UK are carried out after assessing their specific individual circumstances in strict compliance with international human rights and refugee law.”
The passing of this landmark legislation presents a fundamental change in the global equation on migration.
“Under the UK-Rwanda Asylum Partnership, asylum seekers in the UK will be transferred to Rwanda before their claims for asylum can be heard in the UK,” said Matthew Saltmarsh, UNHCR’s spokesperson. “We think that that is being inconsistent with global solidarity and responsibility sharing and is also in breach of the 1951 Refugee Convention, to which the UK is, of course, a signatory."
The measure will drastically limit the ability for UK asylum-seekers to challenge or appeal removal decisions, with decision-makers and judges required to conclusively treat Rwanda as a “safe” country in terms of protecting asylum-seekers – regardless of any evidence to the contrary, now or in the future. The new legislation expressly authorizes the UK Government to disregard any protective interim remedies from the European Court of Human Rights.
“The UK continues to receive relatively modest numbers of asylum seekers. We know that those go up and down, and we know that the increases, particularly in the arrivals of small boats, do create important challenges for the country,” stressed Mr. Saltmarsh. “But it's also important to remember that those numbers are relatively modest when compared to their European peers, but also, of course, when compared to major refugee hosts in regions like Africa.”
Acknowledging the challenges presented by the irregular movement of refugees and migrants, often in dangerous circumstances, the UN humanitarians nonetheless expressed grave concern that the legislation would facilitate transfers under the UK-Rwanda asylum partnership, with only limited consideration of their individual circumstances or any protection risks.
“There is a very important difference in what we're doing and what is being proposed by the UK,” stressed UNHCR’s spokesperson. “UNHCR does have an emergency transit mechanism, but this program is, as the name suggests, an emergency mechanism. It's temporary and it's voluntary, and it serves a very specific, limited purpose. It's a facility for receiving refugees, whose human rights and in some cases, lives, are at immediate risk.”
The new legislation is the third in a series of progressively restrictive UK laws that have eroded access to refugee protection in the UK since 2022, including through a ban on access to asylum or other forms of permission to stay in the UK for those arriving irregularly via a third country. If enforced, the law would facilitate the swift transfer of asylum-seekers, including families with children, to Rwanda to present their asylum applications, with no opportunity for repatriation to the UK.
-ends-

STORY: UK-Rwanda asylum law – OHCHR, UNHCR

TRT: 2:43”

SOURCE: UNTV CH

RESTRICTIONS: NONE

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

ASPECT RATIO: 16:9

DATELINE: 23 April 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

1. Med shot: UN flag alley

2. Wide shot: speakers at the podium

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Filippo Grandi and Volker Turk are calling on the UK government to reconsider its plan to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda, and instead to take practical measures to address irregular flows of refugees and migrants based on international cooperation and respect for international human rights law.”

4. Wide shot: Speakers at the podium with journalists in press room

5. SOUNDBITE (English) – Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “This new legislation seriously hinders the rule of law in the UK, and it sets a perilous precedent globally. It is critical to the protection of the human rights and dignity of refugees and migrants seeking protection that all removals from the UK are carried out after assessing their specific individual circumstances in strict compliance with international human rights and refugee law.”

6. Wide shot, press briefing room with speakers at the podium and journalists

7. SOUNDBITE (English) – Matthew Saltmarsh, spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “Under the UK-Rwanda Asylum Partnership, asylum seekers in the UK will be transferred to Rwanda before their claims for asylum can be heard in the UK. And we think that that is being inconsistent with global solidarity and responsibility sharing and is also in breach of the 1951 Refugee Convention, to which the UK is, of course, a signatory. “

8. Med shot: Journalists in press room

9. SOUNDBITE (English) - Matthew Saltmarsh, spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “The UK continues to receive relatively modest numbers of asylum seekers. We know that those go up and down, and we know that the increases, particularly in the arrivals of small boats do create important challenges for the country. But it's also important to remember that those numbers are relatively modest when compared to their European peers, but also, of course, when compared to major refugee hosts in regions like Africa.”

10. Wide shot, press briefing room with journalists

11. SOUNDBITE (English) - Matthew Saltmarsh, spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “There is a very important difference in what we're doing and what is being proposed by the UK. UNHCR does have an emergency transit mechanism, but this program is, as the name suggests, an emergency mechanism. It's temporary and it's voluntary, and it serves a very specific, limited purpose. It's a facility for receiving refugees, whose human rights and in some cases, lives, are at immediate risk.”

12. Med shot, press briefing room with journalists

13. Close up: Journalist listening

14. Wide shot: Zoom operators behind the windows with camerawoman in front of it


Audio Files 1
Download UK - Rwanda asylum law: OHCHR - UNHCR (Edited Story)
Download

Similar Stories

Widespread starvation in Gaza – IPC, UN Women 29 July 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UNWOMEN

Widespread starvation in Gaza – IPC, UN Women 29 July 2025 ENG FRA

Aid agencies echoed wider warnings of growing signs of widespread starvation in Gaza on Tuesday, as UN-partnered international food security experts released their most dire assessment yet of the situation in the wartorn enclave.

Sudan displaced return – IOM, UNDP, UNHCR 25 July 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | IOM , UNDP , UNHCR

Sudan displaced return – IOM, UNDP, UNHCR 25 July 2025 ENG FRA

Sudan: urgent help needed as more than 1.3 million war-displaced people begin to return home

As conflict rages on across parts of Sudan, pockets of relative safety have emerged in the past four month, spurring more than one million internally displaced Sudanese to make their way home, says the International Organization for Migration (IOM). A further 320,000 cross-border refugees have come back to Sudan since last year, mainly from Egypt and South Sudan, to assess the current situation before deciding to return to their country for good.

Gaza crisis update UNRWA – WHO 22 July 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UNRWA , WHO

Gaza crisis update UNRWA – WHO 22 July 2025 ENG FRA

Gaza: SOS messages describe people fainting from hunger; UN health worker detained

Worrying alerts from United Nations staff in Gaza who have been fainting from hunger and exhaustion over the past 48 hours have increased fears for people’s survival in the devastated enclave, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

Funding cuts impact on aid access - UNHCR Dominique Hyde - 18 July 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UNHCR , UNOG

Funding cuts impact on aid access - UNHCR Dominique Hyde - 18 July 2025 ENG FRA

Over 11.6 million refugees risk losing aid access due to funding cuts, says UNHCR

Approximately one in three refugees and other vulnerable individuals normally supported by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) are expected to lose out from funding cuts, it said on Friday.

UN Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani on opening mission in Bangladesh

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR

UN Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani on opening mission in Bangladesh ENG FRA

Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, made the following announcement on the Office’s opening of a new mission in Bangladesh.

UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on returns of Afghans

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR

UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on returns of Afghans ENG FRA

The surge in the number of Afghans forced or compelled to return to Afghanistan this year is creating a multi-layered human rights crisis requiring the urgent attention of the international community,” UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said on Friday.  

UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on violence in Suweida, Syria

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on violence in Suweida, Syria ENG FRA

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday called for accountability and justice for the killings and other gross human rights violations and abuses in the southern city of Suweida. 

Syria Sweida violence OHCHR – UNHCR 18 July 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNHCR

Syria Sweida violence OHCHR – UNHCR 18 July 2025 ENG FRA

Syria: hundreds killed in Sweida, ‘widespread’ violations as civilians flee for their lives

Amid violent clashes in southern Syria’s Sweida governorate, a picture of grave human rights abuses and rising humanitarian needs is emerging by the hour, the UN said on Friday.

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Liz Throssell on Ukraine

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Liz Throssell on Ukraine ENG

At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Liz Throssell made the following statement on the latest number of civilian casualties in Ukraine.

UN Human Rights Briefing on West Bank

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights Briefing on West Bank ENG FRA

The UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday called for investigations into hundreds of killings of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank by Israeli security forces and settlers, warning against ongoing forced mass displacement of the Palestinian population.

Gaza And Occupied West Bank Update - OHCHR, UNRWA  15 July 2025

1

1

2

Edited News | OHCHR , UNRWA

Gaza And Occupied West Bank Update - OHCHR, UNRWA 15 July 2025 ENG FRA

Nearly 900 people have been killed in Gaza in recent weeks trying to fetch food, with most deaths linked to private aid hubs run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday.

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on escalating gang violence  in Haiti

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on escalating gang violence in Haiti ENG FRA

The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the UN Human Rights Office have today released a report detailing the evolution of violent gang incidents beyond the capital Port-au-Prince since October 2024 up to June 2025, and the resulting loss of life and mass displacement.