Rwanda refugee scheme ‘not safe’
THE Government’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda is ‘not safe’, lawyers have told the High Court.
Migrants due to be given a one-way ticket to the east African nation as part of Home Secretary Priti Patel’s bid to curb Channel crossings, as well as campaign groups and a union, have asked judges to block their upcoming deportation flight.
Up to 130 people have been notified they could be removed on the inaugural flight, due to take off on Tuesday.
But lawyers for almost 100 migrants have already submitted legal challenges asking to stay in the UK with the remaining anticipated to follow suit this week.
On Friday, the first stage of action began, brought by lawyers on behalf of four individual migrants alongside the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), which represents more than 80 per cent of Border Force staff, as well as groups Care4Calais and Detention Action who are challenging the policy on behalf of everyone affected.
Raza Husain QC, for the claimants, told the High Court: “The system is not safe. It is not that it is not safe after July, it is just not safe. You may be arbitrarily denied access to
it. If you do get into it, there are concerns about the impartiality of the decision-making.”
He continued: “The evidence is that if you are not from a neighbouring country, then there are high levels of rejection.”
Mr Husain said this included asylum seekers from Syria, who are largely accepted by the UK system.
“The procedure is simply unsafe,” he added.
Calling for an evidence-based assessment for the policy, ‘not an aspirational basis, or hopes’, Mr Husain said: “The Secretary of State’s conclusion as to the safety of Rwanda was irrational. We have a very strong case on that,” later adding: “We say there is no answer whatsoever to this case on irrationality on the assessment that Rwanda’s procedures are safe.”
The barrister later said that the agreement between the two countries, known as a Memorandum of Understanding, was ‘unenforceable’.
“Nothing monitors it, there’s no evidence of structural change. The risks are just too high,” he added.
The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, had a number of concerns about the asylum process in Rwanda, including discriminatory access to asylum – including for LGBT people – a lack of legal representation and interpreters, and difficulties in appealing, the court heard.
Mr Husain said: “These are concerns that have been communicated to the UK authorities and yet the Secretary of State’s position is that the UNHCR has given this plan a green light – that is a false claim.”
The Home Office has said it expected legal challenges but is ‘determined to deliver this new partnership’ and insisted the policy ‘fully complies with international and national law’, while PM Boris Johnson remains confident the policy is legal.