Suella Braverman says being gay or a woman is not enough to claim asylum

Being gay or a woman isn’t enough to claim asylum, says Suella Braverman.Source: Reuters

Transcript

00:00 will not be able to sustain an asylum system if in effect simply being gay or

00:04 a woman or fearful of discrimination in your country of origin is sufficient to

00:10 qualify for protection. Article 31 of the Refugee Convention makes clear that it

00:16 is intended to apply to individuals coming directly, directly from a

00:21 territory where their life was threatened. It also states where people

00:26 are crossing borders without permission. They should present themselves without

00:31 delay to the authorities and must show good cause for any illegal entry. The UK

00:38 along with many others including America interpret this to mean that people

00:43 should seek refuge and claim asylum in the first safe country that they reach.

00:48 But NGOs and others including the UN Refugee Agency contest this. The status

00:56 quo where people are able to travel through multiple safe countries and even

01:00 reside in safe countries for years while they pick and choose their preferred

01:05 destination to claim asylum is absurd and unsustainable.