Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 23rd April. UN experts on Monday have expressed concern over the role airlines and aviation authorities could have in the unlawful removal of asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda under an agreement between the two governments and the proposed ‘Safety of Rwanda’ Bill.
Britain announced the Migration and Economic Development Partnership referred to as the UK-Rwanda Asylum Partnership stated that asylum-seekers in the UK would be sent to Rwanda before their cases could be heard.
The national Rwandan asylum system would then consider their need for international protection.
UK Supreme Court said the policy was unlawful due to safety concerns in Rwanda in November 2023.
UK and Rwanda created the ‘Safety of Rwanda’ Bill, declaring Rwanda a safe country, among other stipulations.
According to international media reports, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is working on having the bill passed and said that the first flight transporting asylum seekers is set to leave in 10-12 weeks, July.
UN Special Rapporteurs warned that removing asylum seekers to Rwanda, or anywhere else, could put airlines and aviation authorities at risk of refoulement the forced return of refugees or asylum seekers to a country where they may face persecution, torture, or other serious harm “which would violate the right to be free from torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”
They said that “even if the UK-Rwanda agreement and the ‘Safety of Rwanda’ Bill are approved, airlines and aviation regulators could be complicit in violating internationally protected human rights and court orders by facilitating removals to Rwanda.”
They added that airlines should be held responsible if they assist in the removal of asylum seekers from the UK.
UN experts have been in contact with the UK Government, and national, European and international aviation regulators, to remind them of their responsibilities, including under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
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