The United Nations Office at Geneva

Multimedia Newsroom

Edited News Press Conferences Statements Images B-roll Conferences Upcoming All Stories
Register Login
UK - Rwanda asylum law: OHCHR - UNHCR
/
2:43
/
MP4
/
199.4 MB

Edited News | OHCHR , UNHCR

UK - Rwanda asylum law: OHCHR - UNHCR

ENG FRA
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

Videos 1
UK - Rwanda asylum law: OHCHR - UNHCR
2:43
/
MP4
/
199.4 MB
/
EDITED STORY
Audio Files 1
Download UK - Rwanda asylum law: OHCHR - UNHCR (Edited Story)
Download

Similar Stories

Gaza humanitarian blockade OCHA - WHO

1

1

1

Edited News | OCHA , WHO

Gaza humanitarian blockade OCHA - WHO ENG FRA

UN Humanitarians reject Israeli plan to take over aid delivery

The reported Israeli proposal to deliver humanitarian supplies through hubs controlled by the military would be a breach of the core principles of neutral, impartial and independent aid delivery, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said on Tuesday.

 

Gaza two months blockade - OCHA 02 MAY 2025

1

1

1

Edited News , B-roll | OCHA

Gaza two months blockade - OCHA 02 MAY 2025 ENG FRA

Gaza: ‘Worst-case scenario’ unfolds as two-month aid blockade deepens suffering - OCHA

Two months into a devastating aid blockade of Gaza food has run out and people are fighting over water amid relentless bombing, the UN’s humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said on Friday.

/Includes OCHA footage from Gaza City/

Gaza humanitarian update - UNRWA

1

1

1

Edited News | UNRWA

Gaza humanitarian update - UNRWA ENG FRA

Children in Gaza are going to bed starving, says aid agency
The biggest UN aid agency in Gaza on Tuesday condemned the two-month Israeli blockade on Gaza that has left families sharing a single tin of food at mealtime and the sick and injured without lifesaving medical help, amid daily bombardment.

Ukraine attacks - UNHCR 25 April 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UNHCR

Ukraine attacks - UNHCR 25 April 2025 ENG FRA

Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR

With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine. 

 

Ethiopia update - WFP

1

1

1

Edited News | WFP

Ethiopia update - WFP ENG FRA

Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday. 

Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan on continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan on continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon ENG FRA

Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.

Sudan crisis update IOM - UN Women - UNDP

1

1

1

Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP

Sudan crisis update IOM - UN Women - UNDP ENG FRA

Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’

In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

Tariff uncertainty and potential ITC

1

1

1

Edited News | ITC

Tariff uncertainty and potential ITC ENG FRA

Global trade could shrink by three per cent as a result of the United States’ new tariff measures which in the longer term could reshape and boost as-yet untapped regional commercial links, a top UN economist confirmed on Friday.

UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Sudan

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Sudan ENG FRA

Warring parties in Sudan are overseeing a wholesale assault on human rights amid global inaction, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday, as the conflict is about to enter its third year.

UN Human Rights Briefing by spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on OPT

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights Briefing by spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on OPT ENG FRA

The UN Human Rights Office on Friday said Israel’s increasing issuance of so-called “evacuation orders” for Palestinians in Gaza have resulted in their forcible transfer.

Two years of war in Sudan – OCHA, OHCHR, UNHCR, UN Women, WFP, WHO

1

1

1

Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR , UNWOMEN , WFP , WHO

Two years of war in Sudan – OCHA, OHCHR, UNHCR, UN Women, WFP, WHO ENG FRA

Two years of war in Sudan have created epic suffering, aid agencies say

Two years since Sudan’s brutal conflict began, UN agencies warned that famine is spreading and civilians of all ages continue to suffer shocking abuse, including rape and gang rape.

Gaza update - UNMAS

1

1

Edited News | UNMAS

Gaza update - UNMAS ENG FRA

In Gaza, ongoing Israeli military operations and the aid blockade have continued to add to daily fears and hardships confronting those in the devastated enclave, the UN Mine Action Service, UNMAS, said on Wednesday.