United Kingdom: plan to expel migrants to Rwanda crushed by parliamentary committee
The British government's bill aimed at deporting migrants who arrived illegally in the United Kingdom to Rwanda is “
incompatible
” with the country's human rights obligations, a British parliamentary committee warned on Monday, February 12.
British Home Secretary James Cleverly in the House of Commons on December 6, 2023. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (r) has proposed legislation to deport migrants who arrived illegally in the United Kingdom to Rwanda. United, a basis of its migration policy. AFP - MARIA UNGER
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Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made this project the basis of his policy to combat illegal immigration and hopes to be able to implement it before the legislative elections scheduled for this year. In mid-January, he called it an “
urgent national priority
.”
But this very controversial project, currently being debated in the
House of Lords
- the upper house of Parliament - this week, adopted in the Commons on January 17, is criticized both by the head of the Anglican Church and by the United Nations. A parliamentary committee, made up of twelve members, Labor and Conservatives from both houses of Parliament, judges in a report published Monday the project “
fundamentally incompatible
” with the United Kingdom's obligations in terms of human rights.
“
Human rights are universal
”
The bill was drafted in response to the British Supreme Court, which ruled it illegal to send migrants to Rwanda, ruling that the country could not be considered safe for them. Backed by
a new treaty between London and Kigali
, the text defines Rwanda as a safe third country and prevents the return of migrants to their countries of origin. The commission is particularly concerned about "
the obligation for the courts to consider Rwanda as a 'safe' country and the limitation of access to the courts to appeal decisions
."
Furthermore, it is
“not clear”
that migrants deported to Rwanda can be “guaranteed” not to be sent to a country where they could be persecuted. “
Human rights are universal
,” underlines the Commission. But the bill “
undermines this essential principle by denying a particular group
(deported migrants, Editor’s note)
the protections guaranteed by human rights law
.”
Divisions within the conservative clan
With this project, public bodies would be “
authorized to act in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights
”, warns the Commission. “
If the UK adopts legislation that fails to respect its own international human rights commitments, it will seriously damage its ability to influence other countries to respect international law
,” she writes in this report. The project divides even within the conservative party, with elected officials having criticized the text, while others have called for tougher measures. The latter had tried in vain to amend it before its adoption by the deputies.
Read alsoBritish MPs approve bill to deport migrants to Rwanda
(With AFP)
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