Unless canceled at the last minute, the British government is preparing, this Tuesday, June 14, to deport to Rwanda the first migrants who arrived illegally in the United Kingdom, a project sharply criticized by the UN and human rights associations. A specially chartered flight with illegal immigrants on board is to take off from London in the evening and land Wednesday morning in Kigali, according to opponents of the initiative. By sending migrants who arrived illegally in the United Kingdom to this East African country, more than 6,000 kilometers from London, the British government intends to deter illegal crossings of the Channel, which continue to increase despite its repeated promises to control immigration since Brexit.
“Criminal groups that are putting people’s lives at risk in the English Channel need to understand that their economic model will collapse under this government.”
Boris Johnson, British Prime Ministerat Radio LBC
First flight
This controversial project, also castigated by Crown Prince Charles and by the Anglican Church, which recalls the policy pursued by Australia, has been validated by British justice. The latter rejected at first instance and then on appeal last-minute appeals formulated in particular by associations to try to stop departures. But the first flight is likely to take off almost empty. Because if they failed to prohibit the measure, the multiple legal challenges had the effect of significantly reducing its scope. According to the Care4Calais association, which denounced a “cruel and barbaric project”, at least 23 people out of 31 have seen their ticket to Rwanda cancelled. Among those initially due to leave were Iranians, Iraqis, Albanians and a Syrian, she said.
BREAKING: Correction – ONE more Rwanda deportees has had their ticket cancelled. The current total number with tickets for tomorrow’s flight is seven.
— Care4Calais (@Care4Calais) June 13, 2022
After this first flight, the associations do not intend to give up and intend to pursue their challenge in court. “We are disappointed but our broader appeal against this policy will be defended in July,” reacted the Detention Action association about the detailed examination of the legality of the measure scheduled for next month.
“Safe Haven”
Illegal Channel crossings are the bane of the Conservative government and regularly cause tensions with France, from where many migrants want to reach England. Since the start of the year, more than 10,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel illegally to reach British shores in small boats, an increase on previous years, which were already record highs.
Under its agreement with Kigali, London will initially finance the system to the tune of 120 million pounds (140 million euros). The Rwandan government has specified that it will offer migrants the possibility “to settle permanently”. Rwanda’s Ambassador to the UK, Johnston Busingye, said in the Daily Telegraph (link in English) be “disappointed” that critics of the project doubt Kigali’s ability to provide “a safe havento asylum seekers.
✍️ High Commissioner @BusingyeJohns write in @Telegraph newspaper on the #UK–#Rwanda Migration & Economic Development Partnership.
“When migrants arrive in Rwanda, they will find safety & security, and be treated with dignity & respect.”
Full article—Rwanda in UK (@RwandaInUK) June 13, 2022
(Translation : “When migrants arrive in Rwanda, they will find refuge and safety and will be treated with dignity and respect.”
“Immoral policy”
For the UN, headwind since the announcement of the measure, “this deal is completely wrong for so many different reasons”. Human rights organization HRW believes that London “seeks to shift its asylum responsibilities entirely to another country“, which goes against the Geneva Convention of 1951. In a letter published by the log The Times (link in English)the spiritual leaders of the Anglican Church, including the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, that of York Stephen Cottrell and 23 bishops, estimated that “This immoral policy puts the UK in shame”.
“Our Christian heritage should inspire us to treat asylum seekers with compassion, fairness and justice.”
The Anglican Churchin the “Times”
Fueling the controversy, Prince Charles judged in private “appalling” the government’s plan, reported the Times, while he must participate in a Commonwealth meeting from June 20 in Rwanda. In Kigali, Prince Charles and Boris Johnson are due to meet President Paul Kagame, who has ruled Rwanda since the end of the 1994 genocide. His government is regularly accused by NGOs of suppressing freedom of expression, criticism and opposition Politics.
