United Kingdom's new regulation to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda

Translated by Alessandra Fumagalli

On 25th April, the House of Lords has definitely passed a Safety of Rwanda Bill, that establishes the deportation of asylum seekers illegally arrived in the United Kingdom, towards Rwanda, that is considered a safe country. According to the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the first seekers would leave in summer. 

Legislative process

When in 2016, Great Britain voted for the Brexit, one of the main factors was having its origin borders and stopping immigration. During years, several people tried to cross the English Channel, with precarious watercraft, in order to flee from poverty and war; the London Refugee Council stated that in 2022, 45,746 people crossed the Channel, and they came mainly from Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Eritrea e Sudan. Sunk declared that with this approval, there will be a deterrent effect; moreover, further measures will be taken in order to decrease the legal migration towards the country. 

The legislative process between the House of Commons and House of Lords was complicated and doubtful, and the Bill only obtained the Royal Assent a few weeks ago. The first problem occurred in 2022, due to the European Court of Human Rights, which stopped an already scheduled flight; the English Supreme Court stopped another flight, due to hypothetical mistreatment and lack of system to protect the refugees. 

The Safety of Rwanda Bill is a law and try to bypass the English Supreme Court's judgement, considering Rwanda a safer country, despite its history of repression, abuses and lacking respect of international duties. The legislative process does not exclude the European Court of Human Rights to stop again other flights. Sunk stated that "any foreign courts will prevent the flight from leaving". 

Some critics from human rights' protecting organization

Human Rights Watch contrasts the English decision and underlines how some issued in Rwanda can question the asylum's right. For example, in 2018 there was an accident in a refugee camp in Kiziba, and the Rwandese security forces shot and killed 12 Congolese refugees, who protested against the cut of food; further detentions, incriminations and use of force were noted by Amnesty International, and cancelled by the Rwandan National Commission for Human Rights. Also the armed group M23 in Congo questioned the Rwandese's engagement to protect the refugees and asylum seekers; the group is indeed known for committing atrocities and serious violation of human rights. 

Some other international organizations are doubtful about the situation. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, described the new regulation as "a step backwards of United Kingdom's history in terms of helping asylum seekers, violating the Refugee Convention". He also added that the new United Kingdom's Agreement tris to "switch the responsibility of the refugees, weakening the international cooperation and creating a global precedent". The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk was extremely critical: "Switching the responsibility for the refugees, reducing the ability of British courts to control expulsion's decisions, limiting the access of legal remedied in the United Kingdom and limiting the national and international protection of human rights for a specific group of people, this new regulation limits the state of law in the United Kingdom and created a global precedent": 

Also the English society was puzzled; the English trade unions stated that workers are not able to schedule some flights, that are against the International Humanitarian law. As a matter of fact, this week some United Nations experts warned the air companies that the exclusion of asylum seekers from United Kingdom to Rwanda could make them accessory of the violation of human rights and court's regulations. 

Some perplexities

Despite Sunak confirmed that the first flights will arrive in summer, it is not clear when and how many people will fly. What emerges is that the plan is extremely expensive and it has some problems in the making. The National Audit Office, a control body of the public spending, esteemed that the expulsion of the first 300 migrants will cost the United Kingdom 540 million pounds (669 million dollars), almost 2 million pounds per capita. The Refugee Council has published a new report, where it says that the 2023 law on illegal immigration and the Rwanda's scheme will cause a "collapse of the system", that will leave more than 100,000 people in an enduring limbo. 

Despite the law was announced in 2022, this does not stop people to try to cross the English Channel. The more correct and respectful situation would be the one to create a new system with access to equal and efficient asylum seekers' procedures, guaranteeing the protection of the most vulnerable people, who have the right to obtain international protection. 

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