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On 14 June, a flight ordered by the UK Government to take asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda, in east Africa, was cancelled shortly before it was due to take off. This was after a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR, see panel above).
What is an asylum seeker?
An asylum seeker is a person who has fled their home country because they feel unsafe, and has gone to another country where they have asked for protection and the right to stay there. “Asylum” means protection. Once an asylum seeker has been given permission to stay in the safe country, legally they have “refugee status”. A refugee is a person who has left their home country because of war or the threat of violence.
What was the Government’s Rwanda plan?
In April, the governments of the UK and Rwanda agreed that people who arrived in the UK to seek asylum by a route that is not permitted by the UK Government would be sent to Rwanda instead. Those arriving in Rwanda could apply for asylum there, and if their claim was successful they could live and work there. They would not be allowed to stay in the UK. If their claims were unsuccessful they would be sent back to their own countries. However, there are very few safe routes for people to reach the UK and apply for asylum. The UK Government has said the Rwanda plan would stop people making the dangerous journey from France to Britain in small boats. More than 160 organisations, including charities, sent a letter to the Government, in which they described the plan as “shamefully cruel”. Many people across the UK protested against the plan. The United Nations (UN) said the UK sending asylum seekers to Rwanda could break international law. The UN is an organisation of 193 countries that work together.
Why was the flight halted?
The first flight to Rwanda was due to take off on 14 June with 37 people on board. However, several legal cases had reduced the number of people on the flight to seven. Many had won their cases because of a UK law called the Human Rights Act, which protects the rights of people in the UK. The flight was cancelled after a
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in Strasbourg, France, was set up in 1959. It was created to support the European Convention on Human Rights, an agreement from 1948 that was signed by 47 countries, including the UK. It promises to protect human rights for its members. Human rights are basic rights and freedoms such as fairness, equality and respect. Among those who set up the convention was the former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who said, “In the centre of our movement stands the idea of a charter (a document that officially defines something) of human rights, guarded by freedom and sustained by law.” separate ruling by the ECHR. It ruled that the policy could harm the people being sent away, and that a person could not be put on the flight until it was clear whether the Rwanda plan was against the law. A legal review of the policy is due to take place in July.
How did people react?
The UK’s Home Secretary, Priti Patel – the Conservative politician who is in charge of policing and immigration in the UK – made the deal with Rwanda. She said she was “disappointed” the flight had not gone ahead. However, Yvette Cooper, who speaks about policing and immigration for the Labour Party, described the Rwanda plan as “a shambles” and “shameful”. An Iranian man called Mohammed was due to be on the flight. He said he was taken to where the plane was and had to wait in a van for hours. He said, “I was thinking, ‘What crime have I committed to be treated like this?’ It was very humiliating.”