The British government is preparing a new plan to send rejected asylum seekers to "return centres" abroad, an initiative that has received the support of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Sources in the British newspaper "The Telegraph" have described the move as "revolutionary", especially after discussions between the British Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, and the head of the UNHCR about the possibility of paying countries in the Balkans to accept asylum seekers rejected by Britain.
According to another British newspaper, The Times, the government in London is considering setting up several centers abroad to house rejected migrants, with the Balkans as a possible option. Countries that have been contacted so far include Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and North Macedonia, writes A2 CNN.
A UNHCR document highlights “the need for effective return systems and the potential role of return centres”, signaling support for countries like the UK, as long as the principle of refugee protection and human rights are not violated. UNHCR has stressed that monitoring human rights standards in these centres would be a necessary condition.
The model being considered is the Italian one, where Italy has set up two such centers in the port of Shëngjin, Albania, to process asylum claims of migrants caught in the Mediterranean. Now, Britain could follow a similar model.
The move comes at a time when the number of migrants crossing the English Channel has reached record levels. On Friday alone, 51 migrants were intercepted and disembarked at the port of Dover, an incident that included a medical emergency in which one migrant lost his life.
Meanwhile, the opposition has criticised the current government, with Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, accusing Prime Minister Keir Starmer of "losing control of the borders", saying Britain had the opportunity to be a global leader with the plan to send migrants to Rwanda, but that it was cancelled by the Labour government. (A2 Televizion)
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