The flight supposed to transport, the evening of Tuesday, June 14, migrants from the United Kingdom to Rwanda, a project of the British government to discourage illegal immigration, was canceled after last minute appeals.
Le Monde with AFP
It is a humiliating setback for the British government: despite its determination to expel migrants to Rwanda, 6,000 kilometers away, to dissuade illegal arrivals in the United Kingdom, the first flight was canceled.
This project criticized by the UN is very popular within the conservative electorate, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson tries to restore his authority after having escaped a vote of distrust of his party. But after legal recourse, and an emergency decision of the European Court of Human Rights, the plane specially chartered for hundreds of thousands of euros remained on the ground. “Last ticket canceled. No one leaves in Rwanda,” tweeted the Care4Calais refugee support assistance association which had announced previous expulsion cancellations.
Government sources have confirmed to the British news agency PA that the planned plane would not take off due to the last minute interventions of the ECHR. Originally, the authorities intended to expel up to 130 migrants (Iranians, Iraqi, Albanians or Syrians) in this first flight, a figure which was reduced as a grief skin following various individual appeals.
And in a last -minute twist, the ECHR stopped on Tuesday evening the expulsion of an Iraqi asylum seeker, taking a temporary emergency measure. A source of relief for associations for the defense of migrants’ rights which judge the project of the cruel and immoral government. The ECHR, based in Strasbourg, estimated that the expulsion of the Iraqi should be postponed until British justice has examined the legality of the bill, which is scheduled for July. It is in particular a question of ensuring that migrants can have access to fair procedures in Rwanda and that Rwanda is considered a safe country.
the British government “not discouraged”
While saying to expect remedies, the British government had hammered its determination in recent days to proceed with evictions to Rwanda. “There will be people on these flights and if they are not on this flight, they will be on the next one,” said the Liz Truss diplomacy on Sky News earlier in the day. “We are not going to be dissuaded or embarrassed by certain criticisms,” said Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
After the decision of the ECHR, the Minister of the Interior Priti Patel said: “We will not be discouraged to do what is necessary and to implement our plans to control the borders of our country”
By virtue of his agreement with Kigali, London will initially finance the device up to 120 million pounds (140 million euros). The Rwandan government has specified that it would offer migrants the possibility “to settle permanently”.
“This immoral policy covers the United Kingdom of shame”
At a press conference in Kigali, government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said this agreement was a “solution to a faulty world asylum system”. “We do not think it is immoral to offer a home to people,” she added, indicating that Rwanda would be “happy” to welcome “thousands of migrants”.
“This immoral policy covers the United Kingdom of Shame,” said in a letter published Tuesday by the newspaper The Times, the spiritual leaders of the Anglican Church, including the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, that of York Stephen Cottrell and 23 bishops.
“Immoral persons in this case are the traffickers,” replied Minister Liz Truss. Fueling the controversy, Prince Charles judged privately “dismaying” the government’s project, reported Times on Saturday, while he must participate in a Commonwealth meeting from June 20 in Rwanda.