The Court of Appeal in London ruled on Monday that the first flight with asylum seekers to Rwanda can continue as planned on Tuesday. Human rights activists had appealed the British plan to receive asylum seekers in Rwanda. Government policies are said to be “inhumane” and endanger migrants.
The British government wants to limit illegal immigration with the plan and therefore states that it is “in the public interest”. The United Kingdom and Rwanda announced an agreement in April that would house thousands of asylum seekers in Rwanda.
People who have entered the UK illegally since January 1 can be sent to Rwanda. The plan to limit illegal immigration costs 144 million euros.
Loud criticism was heard from various quarters. The Rwandan government said people are “protected, respected and supported in their ambitions”. At the end of April, Denmark also announced that it wants to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda. However, the Danes have not yet reached an agreement with Rwanda on this.
Measure intended to deter
The measures are partly intended to deter people from making the dangerous crossing of the Channel from France, often in small boats controlled by smugglers. The Court of Appeal has therefore ruled in favor of the British government, after a lower court in London also gave the green light for the deportations on Friday. It is not possible to appeal again, the judge said Monday.
UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi on Monday called the British plan “completely wrong, for so many reasons”. Grandi pointed out that there are many countries in Africa and elsewhere that are much poorer than the UK and yet host hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of refugees.
The UN refugee chief fears that such countries will do something similar. “The precedent this is setting is catastrophic,” Grandi said.