UK and France asylum deal could violate human rights laws, warns UN

The UN has urged the UK and France to halt the “one in, one out” asylum system, warning it could lead to “serious violations of international human rights law”. Nine experts, including seven special rapporteurs, sent a 20-page letter to Downing Street and Paris on 8 December 2025, gave the two governments 60 days to respond and published their findings on Friday.

The letter includes detailed case studies of people detained for removal to France, including asylum seekers from Sudan, Gaza, Eritrea, Yemen and Iran, many of whom are survivors of torture and trafficking. It documents incidents such as an Eritrean man forced to the ground with a hood over his head and guards’ boots on his neck, a Yemeni woman told her account was not credible because she had not immediately disclosed her trafficking history, and a Gaza man who lost family in shelling and was later threatened by smugglers.

United Kingdom, France, Downing Street, Paris