Recommendation 16

The UK cannot divest itself of its obligations under the Refugee Convention or the ECHR simply by declaring applications inadmissible and thereby refusing to process them. The prohibition against refoulement, the prohibition against penalisation, and the requirement to facilitate the naturalisation and assimilation of refugees are binding obligations on the UK under the Refugee Convention, irrespective of whether or not a person’s status as a refugee has been formally recognised by the UK. Declaring asylum and human rights claims inadmissible does not alter the UK’s obligations under the ECHR which protects individuals from being returned or removed to another country where they face a real risk of serious harm.