Global Voice
The UK Parliament has passed the Rwanda Deportation Bill that will allow putting some asylum seekers on one-way flights to the African nation, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday.
The divisive legislation was approved on Monday night after the House of Lords dropped its proposed amendments.
“The passing of this landmark legislation is not just a step forward but a fundamental change in the global equation on migration… The passing of this legislation will allow us to do that and make it very clear that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay,” Sunak said in a statement.
The UK prime minister noted that London’s focus was to “get flights off the ground” and expressed confidence that nothing would prevent London from taking deportation measures.
Meanwhile, UK Home Secretary James Cleverly said that the bill’s passage ushers in the final phase of operational planning to begin the deportation flights to Rwanda.
“Our policy does exactly that, and plans are well under way to begin flights within 10?12 weeks,” Cleverly said in a statement.
Rwanda and the United Kingdom signed a migration agreement in 2022 under which people identified by the UK government as undocumented migrants or asylum seekers will be deported to Rwanda for processing, asylum, and resettlement. The scheme has drawn criticism from human rights organisations as well as numerous politicians and officials within the UK.
The first deportation flight was supposed to take place in June 2022 but never happened due to the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which ruled it unlawful. The UK government had to draft a new deal last year after the UK Supreme Court determined that the initial scheme did not guarantee the safety of asylum seekers.
