The British Labor government has received UN approval to transfer rejected asylum seekers to detention centers outside the country. This follows a meeting last month between Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), where Cooper discussed a plan to relocate asylum seekers to detention centers in the Balkans. Under this plan, the UK would pay countries accepting rejected asylum seekers who have exhausted their legal appeals.
The plan seeks to legally resettle asylum seekers outside the UK as part of the government’s initiative to reduce the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats. Since the start of 2025, the UK has seen over 9,000 migrants arriving via the Channel, marking an 81% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
The British government has been aiming to follow the example of the right-wing Italian government by transferring migrants to reception centers outside its borders. The UN Refugee Agency’s approval of the British plan marks a significant step toward its implementation. Britain, along with other European countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, is seeking to establish reception centers in West Africa. The High Commissioner has submitted a proposal outlining the form and conditions for setting up return centers, although the Commission continues to reject deportation plans to Rwanda.
According to The Times, the United Nations has provided legal backing for the deportation of asylum seekers to return centers, enabling the government to overcome legal challenges and objections from left-wing parliamentarians. This follows the UN’s involvement in the UK’s plan to tackle irregular migration, which led to a ruling by the High Court in London declaring it illegal to transfer migrants to return centers outside the country.
According to a British politician, the government is “exploring how to integrate return centers into its efforts to restore confidence in the immigration and asylum system, which was left in disarray by the Conservatives. We are in contact with UNHCR and welcome its work in this area.” The UNHCR has stated that it will assist countries in establishing return centers that meet legal standards, while continuously monitoring these centers to ensure human rights are upheld. The agency also emphasized that host countries must commit to providing migrants with temporary legal status and ensuring proper accommodation and reception arrangements.
