Top UN officials call on U.K. to reconsider plan to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda

People, believed to be migrants, stand on a British Border Force vessel as they arrive at Port of Dover, Dover, Britain, January 17, 2024. | Photo Credit: Reuters

Two United Nations top officials called on the U.K. to reconsider its plan to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda on April 23, warning the move would harm human rights and refugee protection.

In a joint statement, Filippo Grandi, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, and Volker Turk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, called on the U.K. to take practical measures to address irregular flows of migrants and refugees.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised on April 22 to start sending asylum seekers to Rwanda within 10 to 12 weeks as the upper house of parliament passed legislation that had been delayed for weeks by attempts to alter the plan.