Why the UK will send illegal migrants to Rwanda “no matter what”

After a marathon session, the British Parliament approved in the last few hours the government’s controversial plan to deport irregular migrants to Rwanda. The decision, which comes after two years of intense debate and legal back-and-forth, comes shortly after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced he would go ahead “no matter what”.

TO LOOK: The United Kingdom moves forward with its plan to deport migrants to Rwanda after the green light from Parliament

This plan was conceived in 2020 and announced in April 2022, during Boris Johnson’s government, to halt the alarming increase in English Channel crossings and was continued by Sunak when he took office in October of the same year, as part of his banner against irregular migration.

In November 2023, a unanimous decision by the UK Supreme Court appeared to bury the proposal as illegal, but the government insisted on the measure and “in a matter of weeks” reached a new treaty with Rwanda. A year earlier, another ruling by the European Court of Human Rights thwarted a deportation flight to the African country.

In July 2022, a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights thwarted a deportation flight from the United Kingdom to Rwanda.

After that, Rwanda’s so-called Security (Asylum and Immigration) Bill went through months of intense debate between the House of Lords (upper house) and the House of Commons (lower house).

During this period, the Lords proposed a number of changes that were rejected by the House of Commons, including an exemption from deportation for people who worked with the UK military abroad, such as Afghan interpreters, as well as the appointment of an independent monitor to determine whether Rwanda is truly a safe country.

In the absence of parliamentary agreement, the Chamber’s decision prevailed, as its members are elected at the polls. After that, the Sunak government estimates that the measure will begin to be implemented in the next 10 or 12 weeks.

“The government’s statements that consider this measure an example of not attracting more refugees are regrettable, which is completely contrary to human rights and any sign of humanity towards people fleeing very complex situations. Furthermore, we know that, no matter how many barriers are put in place, until the original problems are resolved, it is very difficult to stop this phenomenon.“, he comments The trade Marina Navarro, director of Amnesty International Peru.

The original agreement was signed by the governments of Great Britain and Rwanda in mid-2022 and in it the European nation committed to paying US$150 million in exchange for the African country receiving irregular migrants who arrived from January 1, 2022 through English Channel. .

Once there, the asylum request would be studied and there would be two options. If accepted, they will be able to remain in the African nation as refugees. If they are rejected, they can apply again, but this time to the Rwandan government. Under no circumstances would claimants have the option of returning to the UK as refugees.

From the outset, the plan attracted attention and raised complaints from several human rights organizations, in addition to the United Nations, as they considered that Rwanda did not meet the necessary conditions to protect the applicants. The British government itself had warned in 2021 that Rwanda was a country where “extrajudicial executions, deaths in custody, enforced disappearances and torture”.

In the last two years, there have been numerous demonstrations against the extradition of asylum seekers to Rwanda. (Niklas HALLE’N/AFP/)

Although the African country appears to have left behind that dark chapter of the genocide in which 800,000 people died, and is currently a prosperous and orderly nation, many citizens in exile have reported that human rights are not respected in Rwanda.

A small example of this is that a group of YouTubers who criticized the government are currently serving prison sentences, the same fate followed by Paul Rusesabagina, manager of the hotel that saved the lives of more than 1,000 people during the genocide and on whom the film was based. Hollywood Hotel Rwanda, who is serving 25 years in prison accused of supporting a rebel group.

Critics of the plan also warn that in Rwanda the risk of applicants being extradited to their countries of origin increases dangerously, contradicting one of the basic principles of international refugee law.

“The principle that these people must have asylum in the country where they seek it must be used, and is a fundamental principle in refugee law. Secondly, the question arises whether Rwanda can have the capacity to accommodate all these people seeking refuge. It is a country where we see an increase in border conflict with the Democratic Republic of Congo. A country where violence is on the rise is considered a safe third country, which is regrettable,” says Navarro.

Following the 2023 court ruling, UK Home Secretary James Cleverly and Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta signed a new agreement in record time that “addresses all concerns of Supreme Court justices”.

In short, the Sunak government took it upon itself to protect the agreement by declaring Rwanda as a “Of course”, thus avoiding the central axis on which the court decision was based.

With this new law passed, judges are not only obliged to consider the East African nation a safe country for those expelled, but it also gives ministers the power to ignore sections of international and British human rights law.

“The original agreement had to be changed, new legislation had to be generated that was contrary to human rights and what their own courts say. The oversight capabilities of the UK courts have been limited, which makes this situation much more complex and will violate the human rights of many people.”, warns Navarro.

In December 2023, the UK Home Secretary, James Cleverly, and the Rwandan Foreign Minister, Vincent Biruta, signed a new agreement with which they avoided the Supreme Court ruling. (Ben Birchall/POOL/AFP/)

The approval of the law took thousands of migrants by surprise who are now at risk of being extradited to the African country. It is estimated that 52 thousand of the 100 thousand irregular migrants could be processed in this modality now that the legislation has been approved.

“I didn’t take it seriously. I thought humanity was important to these people.“Sultan, a 20-year-old Afghan who fled his country after the Taliban returned to power, told AFP.

“I just want to be free and you want to send me to Rwanda? Rwanda is not better than my countrySagvan Khalid Ibrahim, a 29-year-old Iraqi Kurd, lamented to the same media.

The Sunak government guarantees that the main objective of this law is to discourage the dangerous crossing that thousands of migrants make every year across the English Channel. In 2022, the English coast recorded a record 45,000 migrants arriving via this route.

In 2023 the number fell to almost 30 thousand and so far in 2024 an increase of 20% compared to the previous year has been confirmed.

A few hours after the law was approved, the deaths of five migrants were recorded on the Canal, increasing to 14 the number of deaths of those who tried to cross this route since the beginning of the year.

“What is asked for is a minimum of humanity to welcome all these people fleeing the armed conflicts that afflict their country.,” says Navarro.

Source: Elcomercio