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Around 45,000 migrants of all nationalities arrived on the English coast in 2022, compared with 28,500 in 2021. BEN STANSALL / AFP
The High Court in London on Monday 19 December declared ‘legal’ the UK government’s highly controversial plan to deport to Rwanda asylum seekers who entered the UK illegally. A decision that comes at a time when the number of Channel crossings by migrants has never been higher.
“The Court found that it was lawful for the UK Government to make arrangements to send asylum seekers to Rwanda and examine their asylum claims in Rwanda and not in the UK,” read a summary of the High Court’s judgment. He believed that the government’s planned provisions would not violate the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
“To build a new life”
Rwanda welcomed this decision through the voice of government spokesman Yolande Makolo. “We welcome this decision and are ready to offer asylum seekers and migrants the opportunity to build a new life in Rwanda,” she said, speaking of a “positive” step towards solving the global migration crisis.
In April, Boris Johnson’s government reached an agreement with Kigali to return to Rwanda illegally arrived asylum seekers on British soil. A policy designed to discourage crossing the English Channel in small boats.
Also Read: Rwandan President Paul Kagame Defends Deportation of UK Illegal Migrants to Rwanda
No deportation has taken place so far – a first flight scheduled for June was canceled following a decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) – but Rishi Sunak’s government is continuing this policy.
The decision, issued on Monday, affects appeals from migrant aid groups such as Care4Calais, Detention Action and Asylum Aid, as well as the Public and Commercial Services Union (or PCS).
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees even intervened in the case, arguing that Rwanda lacks “the minimum components of a reliable and fair asylum system” and that such a policy would lead to “serious risks” of violations of the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees .
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers The British government sees its first flight of asylum seekers to Rwanda canceled due to missing passengers
Conservatives have made tackling illegal immigration, which was a Brexit pledge, one of their priorities. But never before have migrants been so numerous to cross the English Channel. Around 45,000 arrived on the English coast in 2022, compared with 28,500 in 2021. And four migrants died trying to cross the coast on December 14, just over a year after 27 people died.
“Immoral and Illegal”
In September, before the hearing began, PCS Secretary General Mark Serwotka called the deportation of migrants to Rwanda “not only immoral but illegal”. He had called on the Interior Ministry to “give up its hostile attitude towards refugees”. For the Care4Calais association, this project is “cruel”:
“Refugees who have endured the horrors of war, torture and persecution now face the immense trauma of deportation and an uncertain future. This will cause them immeasurable fear, anxiety and torment. »
Also read: Attempts by migrants to cross the English Channel have increased sharply in the first half of the year
At the hearing, government lawyers said the agreement with Rwanda ensures that those who are returned there will benefit from a “safe and efficient” refugee status determination process.
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In early October, far-right Home Secretary Suella Braverman shared her “Christmas Dream”: “(…) seeing a plane take off for Rwanda. “I sincerely wish that we can implement the Rwanda program,” she said in an interview with The Times on Saturday. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reiterated that his government would resume the project when announcing a series of measures to resolve the currently overwhelmed crisis in the asylum system.
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman is obsessed with migrants
His message to migrants is “clear”, according to Ms. Braverman: “If you (…) come here illegally on small boats and break our rules, you do not have the right to be housed here indefinitely at the taxpayer’s expense. . There will be a very quick reply when you get here. Detention followed by deportation. “It is legitimate to question whether this international framework is appropriate to the situation as we witness a global migration crisis,” she told the Times.
It would be “unforgivable if we don’t solve this migrant problem,” the minister said, while Labor is highest in opposition. “Part of the Brexit vote was about migration, controlling our borders and giving back sovereignty over who enters our country,” she admitted, before conceding a failure: the government “doesn’t have control over the borders.” regained”.