On Monday, Britain’s High Court of Justice upheld plans to deport asylum seekers who entered the UK illegally to Rwanda. This highly controversial measure, announced last April under the mandate of Boris Johnson, allows illegal immigrants to be sent to Rwanda, regardless of their nationality, in a completely legal manner. “We welcome this decision and stand ready to offer asylum seekers and migrants the opportunity to start a new life in Rwanda,” Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo said in a statement on a “positive” measure to resolve the global migration crisis. The British judiciary’s decision returns in 20 minutes, while the first planes towards the Rwandan capital Kigali could soon take off.
What happened in the UK this Monday?
British justice has given the go-ahead for the deportation of asylum seekers who entered the UK illegally to Rwanda, a highly controversial project the government wants to implement as soon as possible. The High Court in London ruled that the scheme was “legal” and found that the government’s planned measures did not violate the Geneva Convention on Refugees.
Why did London introduce this measure?
Illegal channel crossings are the bane of Britain’s Conservative government and a regular source of tension with France, where many migrants seek to get to England. Since the beginning of the year, around 45,000 have arrived on the English coast, compared with 28,526 in 2021. And four migrants, including a teenager, died attempting the crossing on December 14.
By sending the migrants who had arrived illegally in the UK to Rwanda, more than 6,000 km from London, the Johnson government wanted to prevent illegal crossings of the English Channel. “Criminal groups endangering lives in the English Channel need to understand that their economic model will collapse under this government,” Boris Johnson said on LBC radio last June.
How will this deal with Rwanda work?
According to the announcement by the British judiciary, “any person entering the UK illegally” could now be sent to Rwanda after January 1, 2022, with no limit on the number. Deportations to Rwanda are “only part of our plan” against illegal immigration, the Prime Minister told British television. Nonetheless, Rishi Sunak, who the BBC points out is pursuing policies similar to those of recent English Conservative Prime Ministers, promised a “system where you have no right to stay if you enter the UK illegally”.
As part of its deal with Kigali, London is initially funding the scheme with £120m (€140m). For its part, the Rwandan government has specified that it will offer migrants the option of “permanent settlement”. Last June, British Home Secretary Priti Patel welcomed this agreement, which will allow illegal immigrants to “rebuild their lives in complete safety”.
It should be noted that earlier this year Boris Johnson and his government tried to secure agreements with third countries where illegally arrived asylum seekers could be sent. Rwanda and Ghana had been mentioned, but Ghana in January firmly denied that it was holding talks with the UK on the issue.
How are the reactions?
“We have always maintained that our policy towards Rwanda is legal and I am pleased that this has been confirmed today,” Rishi Sunak said on Monday following the UK justice announcement. The Labor opposition, meanwhile, expressed disappointment and anger. The civil servants’ union PCS (particularly represented in the border police) considered the government project “morally reprehensible and totally inhumane” and said an appeal should be “seriously” considered.
For its part, Amnesty International said it was “shameful” that “the Government refuses to recognize that the more it invests in cruelty, punishment and deterrence, the more vulnerable it is to desperate people who have no safe way to get to Britain. The Refugee Council found that this “cruel” policy of “equating people seeking safety with human goods” tarnished the UK’s reputation as a human rights country.
On the Rwandan side, the authorities justify this partnership with the welfare of illegal immigrants. Its goal is to allow immigrants “to be protected and respected and to pursue their own ambitions and settle down permanently in Rwanda if they wish,” Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta said last June.
When will the evictions begin?
After appeals from various associations and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) before the English courts, the evictions could never begin. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees even intervened in the High Court 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 legal status of refugees. A first flight scheduled for June had been canceled following a decision by the ECtHR, effectively calling for a thorough review of that policy.
With this new decision and the very right-wing Interior Minister Suella Braverman, who had voiced her “dream” of deporting migrants to Rwanda, Rishi Sunak, who wants to implement this project “as soon as possible”, put the first planes in the direction Rwanda’s capital Kigali could soon take off. However, the judiciary asked the Interior Ministry to verify its copy of eight migrants who opposed their deportation to Rwanda. The “Home Office” has not examined their personal circumstances sufficiently to determine whether there are any indications against their deportation to Rwanda.
At the moment, no date for a first flight has been given by the UK executive and associations have until January 16 to appeal the decision. Nevertheless, the head of the “Home Office” said her teams were ready “again to defend themselves against any legal action”.