British Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was “disappointed” and surprised by the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) last-minute decision to block a flight with at least seven asylum seekers from departing to Rwanda, saying the matter had already been approved by British courts.
Patel stressed that the government would not be “deterred from doing the right thing” and protecting the nation’s border. She further warned that “many of those removed from the flight will be placed on the next.” She declared, “Our legal team are reviewing every decision made on this flight and preparation for the next flight begins now.”
We have just had the most amazing news. The European Court of Human Rights has issued an order to stop the deportation of one of the men to Rwanda. This means it is now possible for the other six to make similar claims. We are so relieved.
— Care4Calais (@Care4Calais) June 14, 2022
The Rwandan government, too, reiterated its commitment to the UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership despite the ECHR’s decision. Spokesperson Yolande Makolo said that Kigali stands “ready to receive the migrants when they do arrive and offer them safety and opportunity.”
Addressing concerns about human rights abuses in Rwanda, Makolo reassured that the government would provide “decent accommodation” and meet the asylum-seekers’ “essential needs.” She added, “We don't think it is immoral to offer people a home.”
On Tuesday evening, a flight carrying seven asylum seekers who were set to be deported to Rwanda was grounded following an emergency appeal to the ECHR, which granted an interim relief just an hour and a half before departure.
The flight was originally supposed to deport 130 individuals who had been served notices earlier this month informing them of their departure to Rwanda. However, advocacy groups submitted applications to stop the aircraft from leaving and prevented most of the asylum-seekers from being deported.
There is no point in Govt blaming anyone else but themselves.
— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) June 14, 2022
Ministers are pursuing a policy they know isn’t workable & that won’t tackle criminal gangs.
But they still paid Rwanda £120m & hired a jet that hasn’t taken off because they just want a row & someone else to blame.
In the run-up to the flight, British courts rejected the appeals of four asylum-seekers on board. A fifth passenger lost a bid in the Supreme Court and was refused the right to file an appeal with the Court of Appeals. The judge said the government had assured that if the policy was eventually found to be unlawful, all migrants deported to Rwanda would be brought back. The legality of the policy is set to be tested before the High Court in July.
However, one of the seven asylum-seekers’ lawyers succeeded in appealing to the ECHR, thereafter paving the way for the legal representatives of the other six to file application with the European court.
The ECHR looked into the case of a 54-year-old Iraqi national who entered the United Kingdom (UK) in a dinghy and sought asylum over a threat to his life in Iraq just last month. In fact, a doctor at the detention centre concluded that he had been a victim of torture.
…in breaking the deadly people smuggling trade and ultimately save lives. 2/3
— Priti Patel (@pritipatel) June 10, 2022
Just five days after submitting his application, the Home Office sent him a notice saying that his asylum application was inadmissible and that he would be relocated to Rwanda. However, the ECHR ruled that the British government should not transfer the Iraqi asylum-seeker “until three weeks after the delivery of the final domestic decision in his ongoing judicial review proceedings.” The Court said that since the applicant had not exhausted all legal proceedings in the UK, his deportation should be halted.
The decision was welcomed by several advocacy rights groups. The chief of the Public and Commercial Services Union, Mark Serwotka, welcomed the decision and urged the government to bring an end to the “inhumane policy” and instead work to sort out the asylum system so that asylum-seekers are “treated fairly and according to the law.”
Interim measure granted in case concerning asylum-seeker’s imminent removal from the UK to Rwandahttps://t.co/7WkVG5G6nv#ECHR #CEDH #ECHRpress pic.twitter.com/EMCU94lIQE
— ECHR CEDH (@ECHR_CEDH) June 14, 2022
The events of Tuesday come as a major blow to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Home Secretary Priti Patel, who have vowed to send thousands of asylum-seekers to Rwanda while their applications were being processed. The cancelled flight has already cost the government £250,000 ($303,000).
Johnson has previously spoken of his desire to withdraw from the ECHR to allow the UK to independently make decisions and deport illegal immigrants. The UK government has been struggling to deal with thousands of illegal migrants who cross the English Channel each year to enter British land. According to Home Office data, 28,526 individuals from several African and Arab countries entered the UK illegally last year. Around 9,000 have made the journey this year as well.
In April, the UK and Rwanda signed a deal to relocate a number of illegal immigrants to the east African nation. The UK has insisted that the plan underscores its commitment to promoting a “fairer” global asylum system and said the agreement will “save lives,” as Rwanda is a “fundamentally safe and secure country.” Rwanda, meanwhile, has said it has a “long history” of offering asylum and highlighted that the country is currently home to 130,000 refugees.
Rights groups and even the United Nations Refugee Agency, however, have expressed concern that it allows for vulnerable individuals fleeing persecution to be “traded like commodities” without “sufficient safeguards and standards.” The plan has also been criticised over Rwanda’s history of human rights violations.