Statement on U.K. Decision to Reroute Asylum Seekers to Rwanda

Berlin (April 14, 2022) — Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights Chairman and Founder Salah Ahmad released the below statement addressing the British Government’s decision to reroute asylum seekers to Rwanda:

“It should be realized and shared in the global media that seeking asylum is a legal and internationally accepted method of migration, and to prevent or hinder the ability of individuals to enter safer countries goes against the spirit of the 1951 Refugee Convention.

“Asylum seekers and refugees leave their home countries because they have no choice and are fleeing from persecution and violence based on their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or hold membership to a particular social group.

“These journeys undertaken by refugees and those seeking asylum are often treacherous and can result in harm or death to innocent women, children, and families faced with the difficult decision to leave their homeland and trust in the kindness of strangers. Artificially extending these journeys is unnecessarily cruel and an affront to human decency.

“Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights urges the United Kingdom along with countries in Europe and North America to not place unnecessary burdens on those individuals fleeing violence and persecution by extending their difficult journeys and denying them entry.”

About Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights

Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights is a nonprofit organization that supports survivors of human rights violations, defends fundamental freedoms, and promotes democratic values throughout the world. Jiyan Foundation seeks to build democratic societies that protects the dignity of the human being, where adults and children enjoy the rights to life and freedom, and citizens are free from violence, torture, and terror,

Our programs, projects, and initiatives provide mental health, medical treatment and other health services to survivors of trauma, terror, domestic violence, and human rights violations. Our work supports nine treatment centers, a clinic for Yazidi women and families, a Healing Garden and mobile teams helping survivors in 11 refugee and IDP camps in nine regions throughout Kurdistan-Iraq, Iraq, and Syria. Since 2005 these programs have provided support to over 100,000 people

 

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