Rome:

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Saturday he would push for global reforms to the asylum system and warned that rising numbers of refugees threatened to overwhelm parts of Europe.

In a speech in Italy, Sunak delivered some of his harshest criticisms of the global asylum system as he tries to revive his government’s plans to send refugees to live in Rwanda.

Sunak made the comments at a political festival hosted by his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni’s party, where he warned that some “enemies” were deliberately “bringing people to our shores to try to destabilize our society”.

Sunak said, “If we don’t tackle this problem, the numbers will only increase. It will impact our countries and our ability to help those who really need our help most.”

“If this requires us to have an international conversation to update our laws and amend the post-war framework around asylum, then we should do that.”

Reading Britain announces strict visa measures to reduce net migration

Suella Braverman, Britain’s former home secretary, earlier this year called for changes to the UN Refugee Convention, which obliges all signatories to grant asylum to people fleeing persecution.

This provision has been one of the biggest legal obstacles to the British government’s efforts to prevent small boat crossings and send potential asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing.

Britain and Italy on Saturday announced plans to jointly co-fund the journey home for migrants stranded in Tunisia, but did not specify how much money would be provided, according to statements from both countries.

Last month, Italy agreed with Albania to create a sea migrant reception center in Albania to host migrants trying to reach the coast in an effort to reduce the number that has almost doubled in the past year. Could.

Days earlier, Sunak avoided a major threat to his leadership on Tuesday when he won a vote in parliament on an emergency bill to revive his plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda in the face of a rebellion by some of his MPs.