§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many countries had their status changed from unsafe to receive failed asylum seekers in the last 12 months. [185208]
§ Mr. BrowneCountries of origin of asylum seekers are not designated as safe or unsafe to receive failed asylum seekers. All asylum and human rights claims are considered on their individual merits in accordance with our obligations under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Individual asylum seekers found by both the Home Office and the independent Appellate Authority not to be at risk of persecution and not in need of humanitarian protection are considered for removal on a case by case basis.
Separately, section 94 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 provides for the designation of countries which are considered to be generally safe and from which many asylum claims are likely to be clearly unfounded.