The British parliament gives the green light to the law on the transfer of asylum seekers in Rwanda who have arrived illegally in the United Kingdom. The approval took place late at night, after continuous backlash, months of obstructionism by the House of Lords and criticism and doubts over potential human rights violations. Now, to come into force, the law will have to be promulgated by King Charles III, which is expected to happen today, Tuesday 23 April.
The one on the transfer of asylum seekers to Rwanda, a central African country, is one of the main proposals promoted by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. But it is considered unworkable or illegal by many. The plan means that all migrant people arriving in the UK could be transferred to Rwanda while they wait for their asylum claim to be processed. The law had been blocked several times by British courts and also by the European Court of Human Rights which had raised potential human rights violations.
A vote that comes in an important period for the Sunak executive. The country, in fact, will go to elections by the end of the year and, according to polls, the Labor opposition is ahead of the conservatives in government. But the prime minister believes that his immigration plan could be politically important to make up for the disadvantage. Over the past four months, the House of Lords has delayed passing the law several times. Then the judgment on the illegality by the British Supreme Court last November deeming Rwanda not a “safe country”. And also highlighting the risk for repatriated people of suffering inhumane mistreatment in their countries of origin.
The passage of the “historic” Rwanda Bill represents “not just a step forward, but a fundamental change in the global migration equation”, Prime Minister Sunak said. The text was introduced to “dissuade vulnerable migrants from making dangerous crossings and counter the business of criminal gangs that exploit them. If you come here illegally, you cannot stay and our goal now is to get the flights off the ground, and I am aware that nothing will stop us from doing that and saving lives,” he concluded. However, the United Nations is not of the same opinion and has asked Great Britain to reconsider the plans to expel asylum seekers in Rwanda: “The measure is a dangerous precedent at a global level”, said the High Commissioner for Human Rights , Volker Türk, then inviting Sunak “to instead 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 article is originally published on .ilfattoquotidiano.it
