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The United Nations has rebuked the home secretary's "concerning" criticisms of the refugee convention during her speech in Washington. Suella Braverman claimed the 1951 convention had lowered the threshold so asylum seekers only needed to prove they faced discrimination, rather than a risk of torture, violence or death. She added the international community had "failed" to modernise international laws and deal with an "existential challenge". UNHCR Representative to the United Kingdom Vicky Tennant responded to Braverman's claims saying, "the spirit of the refugee convention is very much based on international cooperation" and that it would be worrying "if there were to be serious efforts to restrict the interpretation of the refugee convention" or to step away from its obligations.