British parliament votes in favor of controversial Rwanda asylum pact
In order to deter refugees, London wants to send new arrivals to Rwanda without examining their asylum application. The Supreme Court declares the plan unconstitutional. Nevertheless, the British Parliament is now waving a corresponding draft through. There is already a plan to counter the legal concerns.
In the dispute over the British asylum pact with Rwanda, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has escaped a heavy defeat in Parliament. The majority of MPs voted in favor of a hastily introduced government bill in the second reading, which is intended to save the asylum pact with Rwanda, which has been declared illegal by the Supreme Court.
There had previously been serious doubts as to whether Sunak would be able to secure the required majority. Both the right and left wings of his party had major reservations about the bill. In the end, 313 MPs voted in favor of the bill, 269 against.
In order to deter migrants, London wants to send irregular arrivals to Rwanda in future without examining their asylum application and regardless of their origin. Instead, they are to apply for protection there - a return to the UK is not planned. However, the British Supreme Court raised concerns about the Rwandan asylum procedure and declared the plan unlawful in mid-November.
A safe third country?
In order to dispel these concerns, the government in London now wants to declare Rwanda a safe third country by law and at the same time exclude legal recourse in the UK, citing human rights. Critics, including those from his own party, accused him of overriding the principles of the rule of law. For others, the move did not go far enough.
They demanded that international courts should also be excluded by law. Sunak has made it a central concern of his government to end the irregular entry of migrants in small boats across the English Channel. In 2022 alone, around 45,000 people reached the UK this way. So far this year, the number is significantly lower. Nevertheless, the promise has not been kept.
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Despite facing criticism for potentially overriding the principles of the rule of law, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak successfully rallied support within Parliament, with 313 MPs voting in favor of declaring Rwanda a safe third country for asylum seekers. This move intends to address legal concerns raised by the British Supreme Court about the Rwandan asylum procedure, which had previously rendered the partnership unlawful.
Source: www.ntv.de
