UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman Questions Role Of 1951 Geneva Convention

 

UK’s home secretary questions the foundation of modern asylum law during a speech in Washington.

Suella Braverman will appeal to world leaders and political thinkers to consider rewriting key refugee rules so they are “fit for the modern age”.

The UK Home Secretary questioned the foundation of modern asylum law, arguing “simply being gay, or a woman” shouldn’t be by itself grounds for international protection.

With a general election due next year, which the opposition party Labour is widely tipped to win, the ruling Conservatives’ stance against asylum seekers is becoming increasingly hardline.

“Let me be clear, there are vast swathes of the world where it is extremely difficult to be gay, or to be a woman,” she said. “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.”

The government’s stance against refugees is getting more hardline, with the Labour claiming the Conservatives are scapegoating vulnerable groups to distract from their own failings.

Braverman said the 1951 Refugee Convention was an incredible achievement for its time but added it’s up to political leaders to ask themselves whether the treaty is fit for “modern times”.