The UK government’s plan to deport migrants to Rwanda is lawful, the High Court ruled on Monday, in a move that is set to lead to further legal wrangling.
The court ruled that the scheme did not breach the UN’s Refugee Convention or human rights laws, despite civil society groups arguing that it denies the human right to seek asylum.
The scheme, which will see the UK pay President Paul Kagame’s government £120 million to process applications of asylum-seekers for refugee status, had been due to start in May, but a series of legal challenges have meant that the first migrants are still yet to reach the east African country.
The Court ruling does not mean the end of the legal cases, and the appeals process is expected to take many months, during which time migrants cannot be transported to Rwanda.
Human rights activists and opposition politicians have condemned the scheme as immoral, expensive and inhumane.
The Kagame government is a one-party state and has a reputation for cracking down on political opponents and freedom and speech. In the UN’s Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights in January 2021, Britain called on Rwanda to “…conduct transparent, credible and independent investigations into allegations of extrajudicial killings, deaths in custody, enforced disappearances and torture, and bring perpetrators to justice.”
“This is a positive step in our quest to contribute innovative, long-term solutions to the global migration crisis,” said Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo.
The UK is not the only country pursuing cash-for-migrants policies. Denmark set the trend when it agreed to its own outsourcing agreement with Rwanda in 2021, for which it changed national law to allow it to relocate asylum-seekers to countries outside the EU.
The European Commission has been publicly critical of the schemes.
(Benjamin Fox | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
