UK receives 'relatively modest' numbers of asylum seekers, UN says

GENEVA

As the controversial Rwanda Bill is set to become a law after it passed through parliament, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday that the UK continues to receive "relatively modest numbers" of asylum seekers.

"We know that those (numbers) go up and down, and we know that the increase is particularly in the arrivals of small boats do create important challenges for the country," UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh told a press briefing in Geneva.

"But it's also important to remember that those numbers are relatively modest when compared to the European peers but also, of course, when compared to major refugee hosts in regions like Africa," Saltmarsh said.

He urged: "The UK should be supporting Rwanda – not the other way around."

He noted that the majority of the world’s refugees, 76%, are in low-to middle-income countries.

The spokesperson stressed that the agency has repeatedly shared its concerns in relation to responsibility-shifting and the "serious risks" posed to refugees by externalization.

Saltmarsh underlined that the agency's solution would involve enhancing humanitarian assistance and development aid to regions of origin to benefit refugees and migrants and the communities hosting them.

Ensuring access to and expanding safe and regular pathways to protection is also essential to provide real and managed alternatives to dangerous, irregular journeys, he said.

"A fast, fair and well-managed" asylum system is also key and we are ready to support the UK in that regard, he added.

He underlined the need to build the capacity of Rwanda asylum system as it hosts 135,298 refugees, offering the agency's support to the government of Rwanda in its capacity development efforts.

The British government's Rwanda Bill will become law after it passed through parliament late Monday, paving the way for deportation of asylum seekers to the East African country.

The bill aims to address the concerns of the UK Supreme Court, which ruled that the government's original plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful.

The bill compels judges to regard Rwanda as a safe country and gives ministers the power to disregard parts of the Human Rights Act.

The Rwanda plan had been one of the most controversial plans of the government's migration policy as it sparked international criticism and mass protests across the UK.