"Nine experts, who include 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 have identified in the scheme. They gave the two governments 60 days to respond and on Friday published their letter. It contains detailed case studies documenting the treatment of people placed in detention in preparation for being forcibly removed to France under the scheme."
"The concerns expressed by the UN experts echo those raised by asylum seekers themselves. The Guardian previously revealed 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 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, tear gas and dogs."
"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 boots of guards 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."
Nine UN experts, including seven special rapporteurs, identified detailed concerns and documented case studies alleging human rights breaches in the UK–France one in, one out asylum removal scheme. The experts reported detention of asylum seekers from Sudan, Gaza, Eritrea, Yemen and Iran, many survivors of torture and trafficking, and said detention of torture survivors may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The experts gave the UK and France 60 days to respond and highlighted reported use of force, restraint, denial of basic dignity, and aggressive responses by contractors to peaceful detained protests.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]