Cape Town – UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said it might be necessary to “change some laws” to allow the Rwanda deportation programme to go ahead.
But an eleventh-hour decision to halt the flight has left Boris Johnson and his Home Secretary with egg on their faces.
According to the Guardian, Tuesday evening’s decision was a significant and embarrassing blow for Boris Johnson and his home secretary, Priti Patel, who had promised to start sending thousands of asylum seekers to Africa.
The UK government says its scheme will discourage others from crossing the English Channel.
The UK’s Home Secretary Priti Patel even hailed the Rwandan deal as a world first, a major milestone.
However, human rights groups are slamming the UK’s plan to deport African refugees, calling it ‘totally wrong’ and a grave injustice to human rights.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said it might be necessary to "change some laws" to allow the Rwanda deportation programme to go aheadhttps://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3 pic.twitter.com/Bo460rKYDE
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 14, 2022
7 things you need to know about the United Kingdom and Rwanda’s refugee deal:
– The five-year trial will send some refugees to Rwanda, to claim asylum there instead.
– In exchange for an initial payment of £120 million (R2.3 billion) plus operational costs, Rwanda has agreed to permanently resettle asylum seekers in the country.
– According to BBC, some countries have attempted to outsource their asylum processing offshore. But no country has ever tried to export its asylum responsibilities before.
– A UK court decided on Monday that the first flight to take migrants arriving illegally in Britain to Rwanda could go ahead on Tuesday after judges dismissed campaigners’ attempts to win an injunction to stop it.
– In an about turn at the eleventh-hour, a late intervention from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has now led to fresh challenges in the UK courts, saw the flight cancelled only a few minutes before it was meant to leave for Rwanda.
– Essentially, what the deal envisages is an end to the system of protection for those fleeing war and persecution that Britain signed up to more than 70 years ago, say analysts.
– UK Work and Pensions Minister Therese Coffey says they will try and overturn any future legal challenges to the Rwanda Immigration plan.
IOL
