{"id":746882,"date":"2026-02-06T19:26:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T19:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/746882\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T19:26:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T19:26:10","slug":"uk-and-france-asylum-deal-could-violate-human-rights-laws-warns-un-immigration-and-asylum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/746882\/","title":{"rendered":"UK and France asylum deal could violate human rights laws, warns UN | Immigration and asylum"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UN has called on the UK and France<\/a> to halt the controversial \u201cone in, one out\u201d asylum system, warning there could be \u201cserious violations of international human rights law\u201d.<\/p>\n

Nine experts, including seven special rapporteurs, wrote a 20-page letter to Downing Street and Paris on 8 December 2025 outlining detailed concerns about potential breaches of human rights they had identified in the scheme<\/a>. They gave the two governments 60 days to respond and on Friday published their letter.<\/p>\n

It contains detailed case studies documenting the treatment of people placed in detention in preparation for being forcibly removed to France under the scheme. They include asylum seekers from Sudan, Gaza, Eritrea, Yemen and Iran, many of whom are survivors of torture and trafficking.<\/p>\n

The experts said the detention of torture survivors for the scheme \u201cmay in itself amount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment\u201d, similarly raising concerns that there is a failure to protect people who are suicidal.<\/p>\n

Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron agreed the deal last July. Photograph: Leon Neal\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The concerns expressed by the UN experts echo those raised by asylum seekers themselves. The Guardian previously revealed<\/a> that one man who was returned to France came back to the UK due to fear of smugglers, while those detained issued a series of reports<\/a> about their treatment in detention and staged a peaceful protest against the scheme while detained, which was responded to by Home Office contractors with riot shields, teargas and dogs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to the letter, a man from Eritrea was not allowed to wear shoes for his removal, had a hood placed over his head and was forced to the ground with guards\u2019 boots placed on his neck. A woman from Yemen, who said she had been enslaved since the age of three, was told by the Home Office that her account was not credible because she had not immediately disclosed her trafficking history on arrival in the UK.<\/p>\n

One of the case studies quoted was a man from Gaza who lost his family in Israeli shelling. A family member he escaped with was shot by smugglers who took pictures of all the people in the group and threatened them that if they informed anyone of the death or if they were ever seen back in France they would be killed.<\/p>\n

The letter states: \u201cWe are deeply concerned that the agreement between the [UK and France] \u2026 may result in serious violations of international human rights law,\u201d saying they had received information concerning human rights violations of \u201cchildren and those in vulnerable situations\u201d.<\/p>\n

The letter poses a series of questions to the two governments relating to unpublished information about the scheme, such as the apparently arbitrary nature of who among small boat arrivals is selected for detention and forced to return to France and who is allowed to have their asylum claims processed in the UK.<\/p>\n

The experts also ask about protection from onward refoulement once people are sent back to France. The letter says: \u201cWe therefore respectfully call [the UK] government to end this agreement with France and ensure that migration governance measures respect, protect and fulfil human rights and not create new situations of vulnerability or exacerbate existing ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bella Mosselmans, the director of the Global Strategic Litigation Council for refugee rights, backed the UN experts\u2019 call for the scheme to be scrapped. She said: \u201cPeople directly affected by these policies have stood up for themselves, speaking out about the fear, detention and harm they have endured.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe UN has now echoed those lived experiences with a clear and urgent alarm. These UN experts have documented detailed, credible cases showing that this agreement exposes people to serious human rights violations \u2013 including threats to life, torture and other ill-treatment, and the denial of due process. Continuing to implement it despite those warnings is indefensible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are already aware of dozens of children caught up in this scheme, despite being explicitly excluded from it, many of whom are survivors of trafficking. This letter from nine human rights experts sounds a clear alarm. The UK and France must listen, act now, and stop the harm they are causing.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Home Office spokesperson said: \u201cWe are confident of the legal basis for this pilot which complies fully with domestic and international law.\u201d<\/p>\n

A UNHCR spokesperson said: \u201cWe are engaged in ongoing dialogue with both the UK and France on the pilot arrangement. This includes sharing concerns and observations directly with the relevant authorities for them to address.\u201d<\/p>\n

The French interior ministry has been approached for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UN has called on the UK and France to halt the controversial \u201cone in, one out\u201d asylum…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":746883,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[748,393,4884,1144,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":["post-746882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uk","category-united-kingdom","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-northern-ireland","tag-scotland","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-wales"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116025333163207955","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=746882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/746883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=746882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=746882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=746882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}