Elton John wades into asylum row as he blasts Braverman's LGBTQ+ policy: 'Legitimising hate!'
Elton John has blasted Suella Braverman's comments
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Elton John and David Furnish have today insisted they are "concerned" about comments made by Home Secretary Suella Braverman regarding international asylum policy.
Braverman has claimed the current system is "outdated" and called for reform as well as insisting being a woman or being gay shouldn't be enough alone to gain asylum.
In a tweet shared from the Elton John AIDS Foundation Twitter account, both John and Furnish condemned her remarks.
"A joint statement from the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Elton John and David Furnish on today’s remarks from the UK Home Secretary," the tweet began.
In the accompanying statement, the pair said: "We are very concerned about the UK Home Secretary's comments stating how discrimination for being gay or a woman should not be reason enough to qualify for protection under international refugee laws.
A joint statement from the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Elton John and David Furnish on today’s remarks from the UK Home Secretary. pic.twitter.com/HfWYyFic3n
— Elton John AIDS Foundation (@ejaf) September 26, 2023
"Nearly a third of all nations class LGBTQ+ people as criminals and homosexuality is still punishable by death in 11 countries.
"Dismissing the very real danger LGBTQ+ communities face risks further legitimising hate and violence against them.
"Leaders need to provide more compassion, support, and acceptance for those seeking a safer future."
WATCH HERE: Braverman attacks asylum rules
Braverman publicly criticised the rules set out in the 1951 United Nation's Refugee Convention during a speech at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC on Tuesday.
During her speech, she questioned if the seven-decade-old framework was "fit for the modern age".
She also said to crowds, according to the BBC: "As case law has developed, what we have seen in practice is an interpretive shift away from 'persecution', in favour of something more akin to a definition of 'discrimination'.
"The practical consequence of which has been to expand the number of those who may qualify for asylum, and to lower the threshold for doing so."
John and Furnish were not alone in their crticism of Braverman's comments, with Labour also accusing her of "giving up" on fixing the migrant crisis by making such remarks
The UNHCR - the organisation's refugee agency - also reacted to Braverman's speech with a rather damning retort.
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Suella Braverman has come under fire for her remarks
GB NewsIt insisted the convention "remains as relevant today as when it was adopted in providing an indispensable framework for addressing those challenges, based on international co-operation".
While on GB News on Tuesday, a Nigerian LGBT activist who previously sought asylum to live in Britain also told the People's Channel he condemned Braverman's comments, claiming he would've been "killed" without the framework.
However, Braverman has been backed by allies and several others, including Ben Habib who told Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster "multiculturism has not worked".