British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed the adoption, on the night of Monday April 22 to Tuesday April 23, of the controversial bill allowing the expulsion to Rwanda of asylum seekers who entered the United Kingdom illegally.
Announced in 2022 by its conservative government and presented as a key element of its policy to combat illegal immigration, this measure aims to return migrants who arrived illegally in the United Kingdom to Rwanda, regardless of their country of origin. It will be up to this East African country to examine their asylum requests. In any case, applicants will not be able to return to the UK.
“The law makes it clear that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay,” Rishi Sunak said. On Monday, the Prime Minister assured that his government was “ready” to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. “The first flight will take off in ten to twelve weeks,” he said, that is to say during July. According to him, these flights could have started earlier “if the Labor Party had not spent weeks delaying the bill in the House of Lords in an attempt to block it completely”. “These flights will take off no matter what,” he insisted during a press conference preceding the vote.
The government has mobilized hundreds of officials, including judges, to quickly process any appeals from illegal migrants and has unblocked 2,200 detention centers while their cases are being examined, the prime minister announced. “Charter planes” were booked, he added, because the government would have had difficulty convincing airlines to help with the evictions. A first flight was due to take off in June 2022 but was canceled following a decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
How much will this cost the British?
This text is part of a new, broader treaty between London and Kigali, which provides for substantial payments to Rwanda in exchange for welcoming migrants. The government has not disclosed the total cost of the project, but according to a report presented in March by the National Audit Office (NAO), the public spending watchdog, it could exceed £500 million (more than £583 millions of euros).
“The British government will pay £370 million [€432.1 million] under the UK-Rwanda partnership, an additional £20,000 per person, and £120 million once the first 300 people are relocated, plus £150,874 per person for processing and running costs” , summarized the NAO. The UK would pay £1.8 million for each of the first 300 migrants deported. An estimate which outraged the Labor Party. Leading the polls for the next legislative elections, Labor has promised to replace this system which they consider too costly. The Prime Minister, however, assured that this measure was “a good investment”.
How is Kigali reacting?
The government in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, said it was “satisfied” with the vote. The country’s authorities are “eager to welcome people relocated to Rwanda”, said government spokesperson Yolande Makolo. “We have worked hard over the past 30 years to make Rwanda a safe country for both Rwandans and non-Rwandans,” she said. Thus, this new treaty responds to the conclusions of the British Supreme Court, which ruled the initial project illegal in November.
The court ruled that the migrants risked being deported from Rwanda to their country of origin, where they could face persecution, which contravenes Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights on torture and torture. inhumane treatment, to which the United Kingdom is a signatory. . The law now defines Rwanda as a safe third country and prevents the expulsion of migrants from that country to their country of origin.
4. What are the international reactions?
This vote comes as a new tragedy occurred Tuesday in the Channel with the death of at least five migrants, including a 4-year-old child. The UN has asked the British government to “reconsider its plan”. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, and his counterpart in charge of refugees, Filippo Grandi, called on the government, in a press release, “to take practical measures to combat irregular flows of refugees and migrants, on the basis of international cooperation and respect.” for international human rights law.
“This new legislation seriously undermines the rule of law in the UK and sets a dangerous precedent globally. »
Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in a statement Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Michael O’Flaherty called the law an “attack on independence of the judiciary”. Amnesty International UK called it a “national disgrace” that “will leave a stain on the moral reputation of this country”.
The president of Amnesty International France deplored “unspeakable infamy” and “hypocrisy” based on a lie, according to which Rwanda is considered a safe country for human rights. The NGO has documented cases of arbitrary detention, torture and repression of freedom of expression and assembly in Rwanda,” he listed. According to him, “the asylum system is so defective” in Rwanda that there is “risk of illegal returns”.
Originally published in The European Times.
source link eu news
