UN rebukes Braverman over human rights claim
The Guardian|September 27, 2023
Suella Braverman has been rebuked by the UN refugee agency after claiming that world leaders have failed to make wholesale reform of human rights laws because of fears of being branded "racist or illiberal".
Rajeev Syal, Ben Quinn
UN rebukes Braverman over human rights claim

The UNHCR yesterday issued a highly unusual statement 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 that 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, Braverman claimed the international community had "collectively failed" to reform the UN's 1951 refugee convention 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 illegal migration poses 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. It is an existential challenge for the political and cultural institutions of the west," she said.

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