The government’s plan to send illegal migrants to Rwanda is an “egregious breach” of international and refugee law, the UN’s refugee agency has warned.
Home Secretary Priti Patel this week signed a deal with the East African country to fly some people who illegally arrive in the UK there to seek asylum instead.
Gillian Triggs, assistant secretary-general at the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), described it as “unacceptable” and a “troubling development” during the Ukraine refugee crisis.
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Why are migrants being sent to Rwanda and how will it work?
More than 10 million Ukrainians are thought to have fled their homes because of the war, the UN estimates, with more than 4 million leaving for neighboring countries.
Ms Triggs, who is Australian, was asked about the similar offshore immigration system in her country.
“My point is, just as Australian policy is an egregious breach of international law and refugee law and human rights law, so too is this proposal by the United Kingdom government,” she told the BBC.
“It is very unusual, very few states have tried this, and the purpose is primarily deterrent – and it can be effective, I do not think we’re denying that.
“But what we’re saying at the UN refugee agency is that there are much more legally effective ways of achieving the same outcome.”
She referred to a similar abandoned plan by Israel to send Eritrean and Sudanese refugees to Rwanda, claiming they “simply left the country and started the process all over again”.
Migrants are expected to be sent initially to a hostel in the Rwandan capital of Kigali
Inside Hope House, where migrants will stay while their asylum applications are processed
Breach of Geneva convention
In an interview with The Guardian, Lord Dubbs said he believed the agreement breaks the 1951 Geneva convention on refugees.
“I think it’s a way of getting rid of people the government does not want, dumping them in a distant African country, and they’ll have no chance of getting out of there again. You can not just shunt them around like unwanted people. “
Announcing the plan this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he expected it to face legal challenges.
“We are confident that our new migration partnership is fully compliant with our international legal obligations, but nevertheless we expect this will be challenged in the courts,” he said.
Ms Patel, who signed the £ 120m deal in Kigali on Thursday, claimed it will soon be used as a “blueprint” for other countries, primarily Denmark.
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Immigration minister defends Rwanda plan
“There is no question now that the model we have put forward, I’m convinced is world class and a world first, and it will be used as a blueprint going forward, there’s no doubt about that,” she said.
Home Secretary overruled top civil servants’ cost concerns
Questions have been raised about the cost of the scheme, which some have reported will be more expensive than “putting migrants up at the Ritz”.
It emerged yesterday that Ms Patel issued a “ministerial direction“over the Rwanda plan, which means she overruled senior Home Office officials’ financial objects to it.
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What do Rwandans think of the scheme?
Responding to the reports, a Home Office source told Sky News: “Home Office officials are clear that deterring illegal entry would create significant savings. However, such a deterrent effect cannot be quantified with certainty.
“It would be wrong to let a lack of precise modeling delay a policy aimed at reducing illegal migration, saving lives, and breaking the business model of the smuggling gangs.”
The government claims the transfer of illegal migrants from the UK to Rwanda could start within weeks.