Being gay or a woman isn’t reason enough to claim asylum, says Suella Braverman
Home Secretary Suella Braverman will question whether the foundation of modern asylum law is still relevant in a speech in the US today.
Ms Braverman will ask whether the United Nations Refugee Convention 1951 is “fit for our modern age” – and say “simply being gay, or a woman” should not by itself be enough to qualify for protection under international refugee laws.
She will be speaking to the American Enterprise Institute, a centre-right thinktank in Washington DC, to set out her plans to tackle the refugee crisis.
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Ms Braverman has run the Home Office since Priti Patel left roughly a year ago, although she briefly left after being found to have breached government security rules before later being reappointed.
Tens of thousands of people have crossed to the UK during this time, despite legislation passed by both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak and the prime minister’s pledge to “stop the boats”.
This is not the first time the home secretary has questioned international law – she has previously signalled her discontent with the European Convention on Human Rights and its interpretation and the subsequent impact on policies like the government’s Rwanda deportation scheme.
Ms Braverman will argue that tests for how refugees are defined have changed, lowering the threshold for claiming asylum.
She will say: “Let me be clear, there are vast swathes of the world where it is extremely difficult to be gay, or to be a woman. 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.”
Ms Braverman is set to say the current “global asylum framework” enables the “merging” of “seeking asylum” and “seeking better economic prospects”, “seeking refuge in the first country you reach” and “shopping around for your preferred destination”, and getting trafficked against your will and paying to be smuggled.
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She will say: “This legal framework is rooted in the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.
“The convention was created to help resettle people fleeing persecution, following the horrors of World War Two and the Holocaust, and was – initially at least – centred around Europe.
“It was an incredible achievement of its age.
“But more than 70 years on, we now live in a completely different time.
“When the Refugee Convention was signed, it conferred protection on some two million people in Europe.
“According to analysis by Nick Timothy and Karl Williams for the Centre for Policy Studies, it now confers the notional right to move to another country upon at least 780 million people.
“It is therefore incumbent upon politicians and thought leaders to ask whether the Refugee Convention, and the way it has come to be interpreted through our courts, is fit for our modern age? Or whether it is in need of reform?”
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Ms Braverman will claim that case law has led to the “persecution” requirement to seek asylum being watered down to “discrimination”.
She will go on: “The status quo, where people are able to travel through multiple safe countries, and even reside in safe countries for years, while they pick their preferred destination to claim asylum, is absurd and unsustainable.
“Nobody entering the UK by boat from France is fleeing imminent peril. None of them have ‘good cause’ for illegal entry.
“The vast majority have passed through multiple safe countries, and in some instances have resided in safe countries for several years. In this sense, there is an argument that they should cease to be treated as refugees when considering the legitimacy of their onward movement.”
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This is not the first time senior Conservative ministers have signalled their displeasure with international rules around migration.
Dominic Raab, who was deputy prime minister until he had to resign following bullying allegations, repeatedly voiced his displeasure with the European Convention on Human Rights.
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Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said Ms Braverman “has given up on fixing the Tories’ asylum chaos at home so now she’s resorting to grandstanding abroad and looking for anyone else to blame”.
She added that “dangerous boat crossings are up, the backlog of undecided cases is at a record high, returns are down by 70% and the taxpayer is now spending an astronomical £8m a day on hotels – all because the Conservatives have time and again offered cheap gimmicks instead of getting a proper grip”.
Ms Cooper said: “Most people in Britain want to see strong border security and a properly managed asylum and resettlement system so that the UK does its bit to help vulnerable refugees who have fled persecution and conflict – like the Afghan interpreters who helped our armed forces.
“Under the Tories we have the worst of all worlds – a broken asylum system that is neither firm nor fair.”
Police have appealed for information after a man was charged with murdering two women and raping a third.
Simon Levy has been charged with murdering 53-year-old Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo who died on the Aylesbury Estate, south-east London, on 17 March, the Metropolitan Police said.
In September, Levy, of Beaufoy Road, Tottenham, north London, was charged with murdering 39-year-old Sheryl Wilkins who was found unresponsive in High Road, Tottenham, on 24 August.
He is also accused of grievous bodily harm with intent, non-fatal strangulation and two counts of rape against a third woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in Haringey, north London, on 21 January, police said.
The 40-year-old will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday charged with Ms Valencia-Trujillo’s murder.
Sheryl Wilkins was found unresponsive in High Road, Tottenham, on 24 August. Pic: Metropolitan Police
He is also due to appear at the Old Bailey on Wednesday for a plea and trial preparation hearing for the murder of Ms Wilkins.
Detectives believe there may be individuals who have information relevant to this investigation – or who are yet to report incidents which have directly impacted them – and are asking for people to come forward.
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UK
Family of woman killed 56 years ago, in a case of mistaken identity, believe her remains are buried in a garden
A new “national day” to honour victims and survivors of terrorism will be added to the calendar from next year, it has been revealed.
The annual commemoration will fall on 21 August, and will be marked in a different place each year to recognise the widespread impact of terrorism around the country.
It comes after a 12-week public consultation showed 91% supported the plan for a national day, and 84% strongly supported the proposal.
Flowers left in St Ann’s Square, Manchester, to remember the Manchester Arena terror attack. Pic: PA
How the day will look, including a final name and symbol, will be worked out collaboratively between survivors and ministers, according to the Home Office.
But it will “honour and remember victims and survivors of terrorism”, encouraging survivors to access specialist support, spotlighting their stories, and educating the public.
A spokesperson for the Home Office confirmed that it would not be a bank holiday.
Jo Berry, whose father Sir Anthony Berry was killed in the IRA Brighton hotel bombing in 1984, said victims of terrorism would no longer be “a footnote of history”.
Jo Berry, whose father was killed in the Brighton bombing in 1984, with convicted bomber Patrick Magee in 2004. File pic: PA
She said: “What we remember as a nation matters. It sends a signal about what we value.
“For too long, survivors of terror attacks, and those who have been killed in them, have been a footnote of history. Survivors have felt ignored and forgotten.
“That’s why Survivors Against Terror launched a campaign for a new national day of memorial three years ago.”
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Travis Frain, who survived the Westminster Bridge attack in 2017, also backed the campaign.
He said: “A national day would provide an opportunity to remember those we have lost, to pay tribute to the bravery and resilience of those who have survived these heinous acts, and for us to look forward to the future to educate the next generation.”
The date was chosen to coincide with the UN International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism.
Plans have also been announced for a new support hub to help victims in the aftermath of terror attacks.
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