Britain should not abandon refugees

THE EDITOR, Madam:

IT IS adequately clear that Great Britain will be leaving the European Union on December 31, and its laws and commitments will, therefore, be subjected to greater reviews, amendments, and rescindments. Britain’s commitment to The Geneva Convention 1951, which is considered a rule of customary international law based on core principle of non-refoulement that asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where he or she faces serious threats to his or her life or freedom.

The United Kingdom (UK) has earned a reputation for effectively giving sanctuary to refugees, which the public holds dear. The UK should not divorce itself from its legal obligations of protecting women, children, and men who escaped horrendous homophobic attacks, political and human rights activists who eloquently criticise their governments, women besmirched by wicked domestic violence, ethnic minorities exposed to pathetic discriminations, and individuals who have been drawn into a vast hell of attacks because of the choices of their religions.

It will be fundamentally a grave and regrettable mistake for Great Britain to shut its doors on refugees who genuinely need international protection.

HANDSEN CHIKOWORE London