Letter urges UK home secretary for a 'kind and effective' asylum seeking system

In an open letter, more than 100 charities supporting refugees have urged British Home Secretary Suella Braverman for a “kind and effective system” for asylum seekers in the UK.

On 14 April 2022, the UK government officially announced that it is going to send people who arrive in the UK to seek asylum to the Republic of Rwanda.

The scheme has been widely criticised as a threat to the welfare of vulnerable people who arrive in the UK, hoping to find safety. MPs from all parties, charities and human rights groups have spoken out against the policy.

Reminding Braverman’s comments at a fringe event that it was her “dream” and “obsession” to see a plane full of migrants taking off to Rwanda and the only way to get to the country is a “safe and legal route,” the letter pointed out the hardship to follow a legal route for refugees.

“Home Secretary, when you talk of ‘safe and legal routes’, you must be aware that it is impossible to ask refugees to come exclusively through such a path when even Afghan interpreters who are eligible for one of our few existing schemes remain in hiding from the Taliban,” the letter said.

In an open letter, more than 100 charities supporting refugees have urged British Home Secretary Suella Braverman for a “kind and effective system” for asylum seekers in the UK.

“When you talk of ‘illegal migrants’, you must be aware that the top nationalities of people making dangerous journeys include Afghanistan, Eritrea and Syria, and that at least 97% of asylum claims made by people from these countries are successful,” it added.

The letter also said questioning the existence of modern slavery in the UK, the home secretary “must be aware that you are dismantling your own party’s proud and internationally-recognised achievement in protecting the survivors of trafficking.”

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Braverman had said that “the hard truth is that our modern slavery laws are being abused by people gaming the system.”

The letter was signed by groups including Freedom from Torture, Refugee Action, Refugee Council, Scottish Refugee Council, Safe Passage and Save the Children. It was coordinated by charity IMIX and coalition campaign Together With Refugees.

“And when you complain about the cost of housing asylum seekers, you must be aware that, while people seeking safety did not choose to leave their homelands, they are willing to work and keen to contribute, if only the law permitted them,” the letter said.

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The letter continued: “You have referred to this country’s proud history of offering sanctuary, so we ask you to make this happen with a fair, kind and effective system for refugees.

“Deal with the backlog in asylum cases, create safe routes, respect international law, and the UN convention on refugees, and give refugees a fair hearing, however they get here. Then you would have really done something worth dreaming about.”

The letter came hours after a man hurled petrol bombs at a new UK Border Force immigration center in Dover on Sunday.

A man, who is thought to be a British citizen, was later on found dead by the police.

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“Officers established that two to three incendiary devices had been thrown outside and into the premises by a single suspect who arrived at the scene in a car,” a statement from Kent Police said.

“Two people have reported minor injuries from inside the property. The suspect was identified, and very quickly located at a nearby petrol station, and confirmed deceased.”

Around 700 migrants were later on relocated at Manston center for safety, police added.

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It should be noted that the UK is a signatory of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which allows people to seek asylum in any country they choose.

The Convention prohibits penalisation on account of irregular entry to a country, meaning that the way a person travels to the UK should not affect their asylum claim.

The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, has described the agreement as ‘incompatible with the letter and spirit of the Convention.

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