LONDON: Strategy of the British government to send asylum seekers to Rwanda suffered defeat on Monday as upper house of parliament demanded greater protections before deportation of the illegal immigrants takes place.
Under the Rwanda scheme, asylum seekers who came at England’s southern coast in small, inflatable boats would be sent to stay in Rwanda, but so far, no individual has been deported because of ongoing legal constraints.
To overcome the resistance from the courts, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is trying to pass legislation through parliament that would stop more legal challenges by declaring Rwanda a so- called safe country for those seeking asylum in the UK.
Unelected members of the House of Lords, comprising of former politicians and government officials, voted in favor of an amendment that would mean flights of deported asylum seekers could only take off when a treaty to implement legal safeguards in the Rwandan asylum system comes into effect.
The House also voted for an amendment that said the legislation must comply with international and domestic law, and a proof must be presented that Rwanda is safe for refugees before flights can take off.
House of Commons can overturn changes
It is pertinent to mention that the more powerful elected House of Commons can overturn the changes at later stages.
Sunak has said he wants the first deportation flights to leave the country in the next few months before the general election which is expected in the second half of this year.
More than 2,500 asylum seekers have arrived in UK on small boats this year so far. A seven-year-old girl died while trying to reach Britain after a small boat carrying her sank off the coast of France.
According to the British government’s spending watchdog the scheme would cost around $762 million to deport the first 300 refugees.
