UK Rwanda asylum plan against international law, says UN refugee agency

Saturday, 16 April 2022Newsdesk

Plans to send some asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda are a breach of international law, the UN's refugee agency has said.

The UNHCR said attempting to "shift responsibility" for claims of refugee status was "unacceptable".

New Delhi, 16 April 2022

Boris Johnson has said he believes the scheme complies with international law.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that Priti Patel issued a "ministerial direction" to launch the policy amid concerns from Home Office civil servants.

Civil servants could not precisely quantify the benefits of the policy and uncertainty about the costs meant the home secretary had to take personal responsibility for it by issuing the direction.

A source close to Ms Patel said that "deterring illegal entry would create significant savings" and the fact that the savings could not be quantified precisely should not prevent action from being taken.

Source -BBC