The text adopted by the British Parliament is backed by a new treaty between London and Kigali. It provides for the payment of substantial sums to Rwanda in exchange for welcoming asylum seekers who entered the United Kingdom illegally.
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![British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a press conference in London, April 22, 2024, before the vote on the bill allowing the deportation to Rwanda of asylum seekers who entered the United Kingdom illegally. (TOBY MELVILLE / AFP)](https://www.francetvinfo.fr/pictures/8gm2MwY_-1vJi23Pa_Kd2ywUI08/0x547:5260x3504/432x243/2024/04/23/000-34py8hu-66279e66be1f2462655569.jpg)
A law “historical”. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed the adoption, on the night of Monday April 22 to Tuesday April 23, of the controversial bill allowing the deportation to Rwanda of asylum seekers who entered the United Kingdom illegally. According to him, this legislation “is not only a step forward but also a fundamental change in the global migration equation”he assured in a press release.
Announced in 2022 by its conservative government and presented as a key element of its policy to combat illegal immigration, this measure aims to send migrants who arrived illegally on the territory to Rwanda, regardless of their country of origin. It is then up to this East African country to examine their asylum request. In any case, applicants will not be able to return to the UK. Franceinfo takes stock of this law which arouses indignation in the international community.
1When will the flights start?
The law “makes it clear that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay”, said Rishi Sunak. The Prime Minister assured Monday that his government was “ready” to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. “The first flight will leave in ten to twelve weeks”, he said, during the month of July. According to him, these flights could have started earlier “if Labor had not spent weeks delaying the bill in the House of Lords in an attempt to (THE) block completely”. “These flights will take off, no matter what”he insisted during a press conference before the vote.
The government has mobilized hundreds of civil servants, notably judges, to quickly process possible appeals from illegal migrants, and released 2,200 places in detention while waiting for their cases to be studied, announced the Prime Minister. Of the “charter planes” were booked, he said, while, according to media reports, the government struggled to convince airlines to contribute to the expulsions. A first flight was due to take off in June 2022, but was canceled following a decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
2How much will this cost the British?
This text is part of a new, broader treaty between London and Kigali, which provides for the payment of substantial sums to Rwanda in exchange for welcoming migrants. The government has not communicated the total cost of the project but, according to a report submitted in March, National Audit Office (NAO), the public spending control body, it could exceed 500 million pounds sterling (more than 583 million euros).
“The British government will pay £370 million (432.1 million euros) under the UK-Rwanda partnership, an additional £20,000 per person and £120 million once the first 300 people have been relocated, plus £150,874 per person for processing and delivery costs exploitation”, summarized the NAO. The United Kingdom would thus pay 1.8 million pounds for each of the first 300 migrants deported. An estimate that made the Labor Party scream. Labour, leading the polls for the upcoming legislative elections, has promised to replace this system, which it considers too costly. The Prime Minister, however, assured that this measure was “a good investment”.
3How does Kigali react?
The government in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, said it “satisfied” of this vote. The country’s authorities are “impatient to welcome people relocated to Rwanda”declared government spokesperson Yolande Makolo. “We have worked hard over the past 30 years to make Rwanda a safe and secure country for both Rwandans and non-Rwandans”, she assured. This new treaty thus responded to the conclusions of the British Supreme Court, which judged the initial project illegal in November.
The courts ruled that the migrants were exposed to the risk of expulsion from Rwanda to their country of origin where they would risk persecution, which contravenes Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights on torture and inhuman treatment, to which the United Kingdom is a signatory. The law now defines Rwanda as a safe third country and prevents the return of migrants from that country to their country of origin.
4What are the international reactions?
This vote comes as a new tragedy occurred Tuesday in the Channel with the death of at least five migrants, including a 4-year-old child. The UN has called on the British government to “reconsider your plan”. The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, and his counterpart in charge of refugees, Filippo Grandi, call, in a communicatedthe government “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 new legislation seriously undermines the rule of law in the UK and sets a dangerous precedent globally.”
Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rightsin a press release
The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, described the law as“attack on the independence of justice”. Amnesty International in the United Kingdom has reported “national shame” Who “will leave a stain on the moral reputation of this country”.
On franceinfo, Jean-Claude Samouiller, president of Amnesty International France, deplored “a nameless infamy” and an “hypocrisy” Who “is based on a lie, that of considering Rwanda as a safe country for human rights”. The NGO documented that in Rwanda, “there are cases of arbitrary detention, cases of torture, cases of repression for freedom of expression, for freedom to demonstrate”, he listed. According to him, “the asylum system is so broken” in Rwanda that there is “risk of illegal returns”.