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28th January 2003
Response
to Conservative Party proposals on asylum in the UK
UNHCR strongly supports
the need for secure borders, public safety and security. UNHCR
is however concerned that the focus on asylum seekers, by calling
for their detention, reinforces fears and prejudices whilst ignoring
other potential threats to national security. Asylum seekers have
to declare themselves to the Home Office, unlike the 90 million
other visitors to the UK. The September 11th terrorists were students,
not asylum seekers.
The 1951 United Nations Convention
does not provide a safe haven for terrorists. It specifically provides
that individuals who have committed serious crimes or are threat
to public safety or security may be excluded.
With regard to the review of the Convention,
UNHCR is already talking to governments, including the UK Government,
about how agreements can be added to the Convention to help governments
deal with the changing asylum environment. These discussions and
agreements, which the UN High Commissioner Rudd Lubbers has termed
‘Convention Plus’, are designed to make the system more
effective, ensuring greater sharing of responsibilities between
countries, and help governments manage their asylum systems.
These include the possibilities of
returning those who do not need protection, and assessing claims
in regions of origin, so that asylum seekers do not have to travel
thousands of miles in often dangerous conditions. Recent examples
of these agreements include the agreement between the UK Government,
Afghanistan and UNHCR to help the return of Afghans from the UK
to Afghanistan, and also the role UNHCR played in facilitating the
closure of the Sangatte camp.
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