The British Prime Minister wanted to give asylum seekers a one-way ticket to Rwanda, but was refused by the Supreme Court. Now he has taken an unusual step.
So far this year, 27,000 migrants have made it by sea across the British Channel to places such as Dover. The British government’s slogan is to stop the boats. Photo: Toby Melville, Reuters/NTB
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Published: 19/11/2023 22:46
It has been a very conflicted week in British politics. On Monday, Minister of the Interior Suella Braverman was fired. In her resignation letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, she accused him of utter failure.
Braverman has been the foremost champion of a very restrictive immigration policy. The conservative lawyer has, among other things advocated for changing international asylum rules.
Two days after she resigned, a verdict came that ignites the debate. It is closely followed in several EU countries.
This week, the British Supreme Court ruled that it is not allowed to send asylum seekers with a one-way ticket to Rwanda. Lawyer Tofique Hossan called it a victory both for the asylum seekers who brought the case, and for the rule of law. Photo: Alberto Pezzali, AP/NTB
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Promises to stop the boats
The British government has promised to “stop the boats”. Sending asylum seekers on to Rwanda would deter migrants from setting off in small boats from France across the English Channel.
Now has British Supreme Court established that it is not legal. The Court believes that Rwanda cannot be considered a safe country, as the government claims. It states that asylum seekers risk being sent home to countries where they may be persecuted.
The verdict is a crushing defeat for the government.
But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will not give up. He has taken a startling step. He will get express processed new legislation and a new treaty with Rwanda. It will ensure that the African country will be safe for asylum seekers, according to him.
A former Supreme Court judge tells the BBC that it is “constitutionally very special” to do this.
But even if Sunak were to get the legislation through, the Rwanda plans could be stopped by international rules.
Now conservative politicians blame the European Convention on Human Rights.
Fact
Rwanda-plan
The British government has entered into an agreement with Rwanda that asylum seekers will be sent there to seek asylum there instead of in the UK.
The plan has received fierce criticism from both human rights groups and the opposition.
The first flight was stopped when the European Court of Human Rights intervened in June 2022.
The plan has also faced legal hurdles in the UK.
On Wednesday, the British Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Rwanda cannot be seen as a safe country for asylum seekers.
The British government disagrees and will propose legislative changes so that the Rwanda plan can still be carried out.
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More will do as the British do
Sunak says he won’t let “Foreign courts block these flights». Does this mean that the UK is considering withdrawing from the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg? It is very unclear.
27,000 have so far come ashore on the coast of southern England. This is a decrease from last year. But according to The Times there are currently 2,000 people in Calais who are probably waiting for better weather to be able to set out across the Channel.
Several countries are considering placing asylum seekers in so-called third countries, i.e. countries outside the EU.
The EU’s border agency Frontex reports that immigration across the Mediterranean to the EU is the highest since 2016. Until October, they recorded that 143,613 migrants had crossed the sea illegally.
Italy has entered into an agreement with Albania to create two asylum reception centers to process asylum applications there. Also Germany has begun to look at such an arrangement.
The Danish government has long wanted to do as the British did. The Danish Minister of Immigration, Kaare Dybad Bek, still mean it is possible to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, but with a different model to the British one. The Austrian government has entered into cooperation with the British to send asylum seekers to a third country.
– Will go very far
Jesper Bjarnesen researches migration at the Nordic Africa Institute in Stockholm. He says that the British debate is part of a longer trend that could undermine the international legal system for human rights and refugees.
The fact that several European countries will leave asylum processing outside their own country shows how sensitive a political issue migration is, he believes.
– They say that they are concerned with preventing people from embarking on life-threatening routes with the help of people smugglers. But it is about self-interest. Migration is so sensitive, both at EU level and in the states, that the countries will go to great lengths to prevent migrants from entering the country, says Bjarnesen.
He believes it is problematic that countries such as Great Britain and Denmark will enter into agreements with Rwanda.
– This is a state that is becoming increasingly authoritarian. Opposition politicians and journalists flee from there. You cannot guarantee safety in a country where human rights are not respected, says Bjarnesen.
He believes there are two main reasons why migration from Africa is increasing sharply now. There are several conflicts, including in the Sahel area, in the Congo, Ethiopia and Sudan, from which people are fleeing.
Bjarnesen points out that there are no legal ways to get to Europe for many of those who, for example, want to become seasonal workers. Then they become asylum seekers instead.
2023-11-19 21:46:39
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