Nobody crossing from France to UK by small boat is ‘fleeing imminent peril’, Braverman blasts in call for law change
SUELLA Braverman today declared that no one who arrives in Britain by small boat is “fleeing imminent peril” and none have a “good cause” for being let in.
In a major speech in Washington DC, the Home Secretary called on world leaders to rip up the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.
She said the global framework governing asylum rules is out of date and has expanded over time to enable illegal migrants to “shop around” for a country of choice.
Ms Braverman described the convention as an “incredible achievement of its age” but added “we now live in a completely different time”.
She said: “It is incumbent upon politicians and thought leaders to ask whether the Refugee Convention, and the way it has come to be interpreted through our courts, is fit for our modern age or in need of reform.
“The status quo, where people are able to travel through multiple safe countries, and even reside in safe countries for years, while they pick their preferred destination to claim asylum, is absurd and unsustainable.”
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Ms Braverman insisted that “seeking asylum and seeking better economic prospects are not the same thing”.
And she argued it is unsustainable to keep a system where simply being gay or a woman qualifies for protection.
The Home Secretary lashed out at critics who call politicians arguing for migration reforms “racist”.
She said: “I reject that notion that a country cannot be expected to respect human rights if it is not signed up to an international human rights organisation.”
The Home Secretary insisted it’s imperative that states have the power to control their borders.
If not, “their borders will not long survive” and the public could engage in an uprising.
Ms Braverman argued uncontrolled migration will fuel multiculturalism, a social system she believes has failed in Britain.
“Multiculturalism makes no demands of the incomer to integrate,” she said.
“It has failed because it allowed people to come to our society and live parallel lives in it.
“They could be in the society but not of the society.”
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The Home Secretary also revealed she’s been told by UK police chiefs that the recent influx of small boats in Britain has led to heightened levels of criminality, including in relation to drug crime, exploitation, and prostitution.
“People who choose to come across the Channel illegally from another safe country have already showed contempt for our laws,” Ms Braverman said.