Council of Europe Criticizes UK Plan to Deport Migrants

April 23, 2024 Hour: 12:42 pm

On Tuesday, the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner Michael O’Flaherty condemned British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plan to deport migrants from anywhere to Rwanda if they arrive on the islands, a plan approved the previous day by the Parliament.

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According to the Council of Europe, the British legislation raises “significant issues about the human rights of asylum seekers and the rule of law”.

While the law still awaits formal signature from King Charles III, it is a serious concern and should not be used to expel asylum seekers or infringe upon the decisions of judges.

“I am concerned that the Rwanda bill would allow the implementation of a policy of expelling people to Rwanda without any prior assessment of their asylum claims by UK authorities in most cases,” he said, adding that the law “significantly limits the ability of UK courts to fully and independently examine the issues before them.”

The Rwanda deportation bill by numbers: How nearly 80,000 migrants have arrived in UK since deal was first announced by Boris Johnson in April 2022 with total cost of the scheme soaring past £500millionhttps://t.co/4A0JNIB9eL via @MailOnline

— Frankie Crisostomo (@FrancCrist)
April 23, 2024

The United Kingdom, although no longer part of the European Union, remains a member of the pan-European organization that promotes human rights, democracy, and the rule of law across the continent.

O’Flaherty warned that the UK is prohibited from subjecting, even indirectly, individuals to “refoulement” (the act of forcing a refugee or asylum seeker to go to a country or territory where they are likely to face persecution), even under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Refugee Convention, and other international instruments.

Sunak has said that flights will begin carrying asylum seekers to Kigali, the Rwandan capital, within 10 to 12 weeks, admitting that he would not meet his target of having flights take off in the spring.

Speaking after the bill was approved, the prime minister promised it would be a “fundamental change in the global migration equation”. Human rights groups, however, have condemned the approval of the bill as a “stain on the moral reputation of this country”.

Sunak said the law was “not just a step forward but a fundamental change in the global migration equation” and defended that he presented it to “deter vulnerable immigrants from making dangerous crossings and break the business model of criminal gangs that exploit them.”

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