The United Nations Office at Geneva
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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
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