//We happen to be on the western end of Europe, so by definition are we excused from accepting any asylum seekers?//
Yes. So is most of Europe. The idea of asylum is that those in peril flee where they are living and seek haven in the first safe country in which they arrive. The idea that they can roam around until they reach the destination of their choice is not the principle at all. That is why A31 makes it clear that governments shall not impose penalties on those “…coming directly from a territory where their life or freedom was threatened…”. This indicates that there is a clear distinction in principle between those who arrive directly from a place of danger and those who do not.
The UN (and other bodies such as Amnesty) have seen fit to unilaterally abandon that distinction and place an interpretation on A31 which its text does not support. Quite why the signatories have endured this is not clear. The UN should have presented a fresh text to the signatories for their consideration, but they didn’t.
//I don't need to have a debate about it, NJ. You know the law, and therefore you know I'm right ... by the law.//
Which law or Convention (rather than an interpretation) do you have in mind?