(London) On the eve of the first planned departures, British justice is examining last-minute appeals on Monday against the government’s plan to send migrants who arrived illegally in the United Kingdom to Rwanda.
Posted yesterday at 10:04 p.m.
A first flight carrying around thirty of them is scheduled for Tuesday, four days after the failure of an appeal by associations for the defense of refugees.
The complainants, including the Care4Calais and Detention Action associations, have however appealed, which will be heard on Monday.
Among the petitioners is the civil service union PCS, whose membership includes customs officers who are supposed to implement the deportations.
Stressing that the High Court plans to examine in detail the legality of the government plan in July, PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka told SkyNews on Sunday: “Imagine being told to do something on Tuesday, which in July is deemed illegal. It would be a terrible situation”.
On Monday, the High Court is also due to hear another appeal, brought by the refugee aid association Asylum Aid.
By sending asylum seekers more than 6,000 kilometers from London, which recalls the policy pursued by Australia, the government intends to deter illegal arrivals in the country, which are ever more numerous.
Since the start of the year, more than 10,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel illegally to reach British shores in small boats, a considerable increase on previous years, which were already record highs.
Saying he wants to go after smugglers, Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the strategy will help “break the business model of these ruthless criminals”.
UN reviews
The UN strongly condemned this strategy during a hearing on Friday at the High Court in London.
UNHCR lawyer Laura Dubinsky said the UN agency was concerned about the risk of “serious and irreparable harm” to migrants.
“The UNHCR is not involved in the arrangement between the United Kingdom and Rwanda, despite the assertions to the contrary by the Minister of State”, she also underlined, accusing the government of lies.
James Nichol, lawyer and administrator of the Care4Calais association, denounced a “brutal” policy targeting “people who come from war-torn countries” and “are already traumatized”.
Fueling the controversy, comments attributed to Prince Charles caused a stir. The heir to the throne privately found the government’s plan “appalling”, The Times daily reported on Saturday.
A source told the newspaper that he had heard the 73-year-old prince privately express his opposition to this policy several times and feared that it would overshadow a Commonwealth meeting to be held from June 20 in Rwanda. On this occasion, he will represent his mother Queen Elizabeth II.
Clarence House, which handles communications for Prince Charles, declined to comment on the remarks but stressed that the heir to the throne “remains politically neutral”, as required by his role within the royal family.
In Kigali, Prince Charles and Boris Johnson are due to meet President Paul Kagame, who has ruled Rwanda since the end of the 1994 genocide which claimed 800,000 lives, according to the UN. His government is regularly accused by NGOs of repressing freedom of expression, criticism and political opposition.
On Friday, 23 NGOs called on Commonwealth leaders to pressure Rwanda to release critics from power and allow greater freedom of expression.