HUMZA Yousaf has slammed Suella Braverman off the back of a speech where she warned of the “existential threat” of uncontrolled migration.
The Home Secretary used a speech in the United States on Tuesday (below) to advocate for the United Nations’ Refugee Convention to be overhauled as part of wider efforts to stop small boats crossing the Channel.
She also attacked multiculturalism, adding that the UK’s resources were being stretched thin due to illegal migration and “high birth rates among foreign-born mothers”.
But, in a rebuke to the senior Conservative, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the organisation’s refugee agency, denied there was any need for reform.
The First Minister said it was a reminder that the UK Government will “throw refugees under the bus for cheap, narrow political gain”.
“For shame,” he added.
Responding to a tweet from the UN agency reaffirming the principles of the Refugee Convention, he said: “The fact the United Nations Refugee Agency have put out a statement like this, on the back of the Home Secretary's statement is a reminder of how the UK Government have completely lost their way.
"They will throw refugees under the bus for cheap, narrow political gain. For shame.”
In her speech, Braverman said the current international framework governing refugee status, including the UN accord, was “contributing” to a system that was incentivising millions of asylum seekers to “try their luck”.
Calling for the “definition of who qualifies for protection” under refugee rules to be “tightened”, she said the threshold for asylum had steadily been lowered since the signing of the UN pact, which is backed by 149 states, more than 70 years ago.
In comments criticised by equalities campaigners and charities, she said offering asylum to a person because they are discriminated against in their home country for being gay or a woman was not sustainable.
She described the “interpretive shift away from ‘persecution’, in favour of something more akin to a definition of ‘discrimination’, as well as a “similar shift away from a ‘well-founded fear’ toward a ‘credible’ or ‘plausible fear'”.
The Home Secretary said the consequences of these shifts had been to expand the number of people who might qualify for asylum “and to lower the threshold for doing so”.
She went on: “Let me be clear, there are vast swathes of the world where it is extremely difficult to be gay, or to be a woman.
“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.”
But the UNHCR, which released a statement shortly after her speech, said there is no need for reform “or more restrictive interpretation, but for stronger and more consistent application of the convention and its underlying principle of responsibility-sharing”.
The refugee agency said the Refugee Convention “remains as relevant today as when it was adopted”, and added: “Where individuals are at risk of persecution on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, it is crucial that they are able to seek safety and protection.”
Braverman also spoke of the UK’s resources being stretched thin due to illegal migration due to “high birth rates among foreign-born mothers” – comments which were heavily condemnded
She also highlighted “threats to public safety”, noting “heightened levels of criminality connected to some small-boat arrivals”.
The SNP called for her to retract her comments and issue an urgent apology, saying it proves once again she is “unfit for office”.
