Tuesday, June 14, 2022

UK's First Flight Set to Deport Migrants to Rwanda After Court Refuses to Block Plan - Tasnim News Agency

A British government plan to deport asylum-seekers of various nationalities to Rwanda is set to go ahead after an appeals court refused to block the policy.

Monday's decision came amid criticism at home and abroad over the plan, which the United Nations' top refugee official said sets a dangerous precedent for migrants fleeing war and oppression, AP reported.

Immediately after the decision by a three-justice panel of the Court of Appeal in London, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said the first deportation flight would go ahead as scheduled on Tuesday evening.

Migrant advocacy groups have attacked the policy as inhumane and illegal ever since April, when Johnson announced the plan as way to deter people from risking their lives by paying smugglers to take them to Britain in leaky inflatable boats.

Migrants deported under the program would be forced to apply for asylum in Rwanda, not Britain. The UK paid Rwanda $158 million up front and will make additional payments based on the number of people deported.

Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, lashed out against the policy, describing it as “all wrong.”

If the British government is truly interested in protecting lives, it should work with other countries to target the people smugglers and provide safe routes for asylum seekers, not simply shunt migrants to other countries, Grandi said after the ruling.

“The precedent that this creates is catastrophic for a concept that needs to be shared, like asylum,” he told reporters in Geneva.

Monday’s ruling was focused on the narrow question of whether a temporary injunction should be issued blocking deportation flights to Rwanda while a case challenging the legality of the policy moves through the courts.

Further legal challenges are underway.

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