Refugee Protection United Kingdom Country Report

This report investigates how the UK interprets, narrates and implements its obligations towards international protection for refugees and others that are at significant risk of serious human rights violations and persecution, with an emphasis on the impact of recent migration movements. It explores how the UK applies international protection instruments, particularly the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees/the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees and Common European Asylum System (CEAS) directives, and examines the political and policy conflicts that have resulted, most notably with the 2016 “Brexit” referendum on UK membership of the European Union (EU). Highlighting the gaps between policy and the experience of the asylum regime in practice, the report considers the beliefs, coping strategies and perceptions of those who go through the asylum system. It also links experiences and practices to surrounding political narratives, noting how actors in different parts of the asylum system internalise and/or resist the asylum system’s rationalisations.