Five questions about the British Rwanda law: this is how asylum seekers are received

NOS News•yesterday, 6:07 PM

After years of political and legal wrangling, the British Parliament last night passed the controversial law that allows the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda. That law designates Rwanda as a safe country, allowing the United Kingdom to legally transfer asylum seekers to the African country. Where do they end up and are there more European countries considering such a law?

People who cross illegally to the United Kingdom, for example via the Channel, can now be taken to Rwanda. It is not clear how many people this will affect. An estimated 40,000 migrants arrive in the UK illegally every year.

In practice, people will not be put on a plane from today or tomorrow. King Charles still has to sign the law, as he does with every new law. That may already happen today. After that, it will certainly take “ten to twelve weeks” before the first plane leaves, says Prime Minister Sunak.

Rwanda is more often involved in migration deals. For example, there are refugees who will leave in 2023 https://twitter.com/RwandaEmergency/status/1668333451089686530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1668333451089686530%7Ctwgr%5E0b2a1c3b03dc01a855812c0e8360e581c6e55e57%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vrt.be%2Fvrtnws%2Fnl%2F2024%2F04%2F23%2Fvragen-over-rwanda-deal%2F housed in the African country. The UK has already allocated more than £100 million to ensure the country’s cooperation.

In the capital Kigali, around 500 people are ready to receive the migrants, Prime Minister Sunak has said. They are housed in accommodations such as Hostel Hope in Kigali. That hostel says it is ready for refugees: they have been since former Prime Minister Johnson announced the law two years ago.

It can accommodate approximately 100 people. In photos it looks like a hotel, but the reception is questionable. For example, no maximum number of childcare places has been established.

Tents are ready at the residence to process all asylum applications. More than 300 local officials have received training for this. British officials are also coming to Kigali to assist with the procedure and train new people.

The refugees end up in locations such as the Hope Hostel:

Asylum seekers from England are accommodated in the Rwandan Hope Hostel

The British Parliament can introduce laws and national judges prescribe the law, but internationally the United Kingdom must adhere to various treaties. For example, the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states, among other things, that everyone has the right to a fair trial.

People also have the right to litigate internationally, for example at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. This can be done on an individual basis and in most cases takes several years.

The new law does stipulate that the determination that Rwanda is safe cannot be challenged. Migrants and asylum seekers are currently being selected who will soon be deported to Rwanda.

The United Kingdom is the first country to actually implement this plan, but not the first to make a deal with Rwanda to receive asylum seekers. In Denmark, a law was already passed in 2021 to outsource the asylum procedure to the African country, although it has not yet been put into practice.

Voices for this were also raised in the Netherlands. Last February, the House of Representatives wanted contact with Denmark about setting up asylum seeker centers outside the European Union.

Human rights and refugee organizations are not happy with the new law. The UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said at the beginning of this year that there are too many risks for refugees who have to live in Rwanda.

In November, the UK’s top courts also ruled it was too unsafe, saying there was a risk the migrants could end up being unlawfully returned to their country of origin. There were also concerns about the asylum process in Rwanda.

Prime Minister Sunak subsequently made new agreements with Rwanda and implemented the new law to address the judges’ security concerns.

The UN human rights chief is calling on the British through the UNHCR to reconsider the plan. The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe also speaks out https://twitter.com/MichaelCJT/status/1782694128653910032 against the law. He says he is very concerned about the rights of asylum seekers and migrants who end up in Rwanda.