United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk says that Britain's divisive plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda will contravene basic principles of the rule of law and also risk undercutting human rights. Meanwhile, Rwanda seems to be preparing for a suspension of its own rule of law, as the government warns of the possibility of an impending war with its neighbors.
Turk urged the UK in a statement to "take all necessary steps to ensure full compliance with the UK's international legal obligations, and to uphold the country's proud history of effective, independent judicial scrutiny," highlighting that Britain's controversial plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda could become a threat to the rule of law in Britain.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights particularly called for the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, tabled by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak late last year, to be reconsidered in this context.
If the bill is passed, it would mean that British judges would have to treat Rwanda as a safe third country to which asylum seekers could legally be deported.
This comes after earlier, the UK Supreme Court had ruled that deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda would be illegal under international law, since Rwanda could not be deemed safe.
It is, however, likely that after ongoing scrutiny in both houses of parliament, deportations to Rwanda will eventually be regarded as legal.
Also read: UK: 'Illegal Migration Bill' to become law
Prime Minister Sunak has vowed to get the bill through parliament and fly the first asylum seekers to Rwanda before general elections in the UK later this year. In a controversial move, he even bet money on it against television host Piers Morgan.
The Rwanda plan is part of the government's initiative to cut irregular immigration to the UK, which has reached record levels despite tighter border controls being introduced on land and at sea.
Sunak has stated earlier that enacting the Rwanda plan was crucial to deterring future migrants from considering coming to Britain using irregular routes, and to help destroy the business model of people smugglers.
However, despite the threat of Rwanda hanging over would-be asylum seekers' heads, the number of boats crossing the English Channel has risen dramatically in the past year.
This is why the issue of immigration is also going to be a major talking point in the upcoming general election in the UK, which is planned to take place in the second half of 2024.
Also read: British PM starts election year with long shadow of immigration hanging over his head
In his statement, Turk also highlighted that the Rwanda legislation would be dangerous not only to asylum seekers but to Britain itself, as it would give the British government powers to disregard international law as well as existing British human rights legislation.
"The combined effects of this bill, attempting to shield government action from standard legal scrutiny, directly undercut basic human rights principles," he said in his statement. "Governments cannot revoke their international human rights and asylum-related obligations by legislation."
Turk stressed that the legislation would also weaken the independence of courts by hindering judges from scrutinizing removal decisions to Rwanda and forcing them by decree to treat the East African nation as a safe country.
他说:“应该由法院来决定，自从最高法院对卢旺达的风险作出裁决以来，政府采取的措施是否足够。”
另请阅读:英国挑战最高法院对卢旺达的裁决
土耳其发出警告的同时，卢旺达似乎也在慢慢走向冲突:总统保罗·卡加梅(Paul Kagame)宣布，卢旺达正面临邻国布隆迪和刚果民主共和国(DRC)的战争威胁，并准备对任何攻击做出回应。
此前，这两个邻国最近签署了一项防御协议，打击各自国家的反叛组织，特别是在刚果民主共和国东部作战的M23运动。与此同时，卢旺达将该协定视为对自己的威胁:
卢旺达政府在一份声明中说:“刚果的政治和军事领导人，包括总统齐塞克迪(fsamlix Tshisekedi)，也一再宣称他们打算入侵卢旺达，并以武力改变其政府。”
然而，包括美国在内的许多政府都将M23与卢旺达联系起来——基加利政府否认了这种联系。
美国国务院发言人马修·米勒(Mathew Miller)表示，该地区的危机已经使数百万人处于危险之中，他们已经“暴露在侵犯人权的情况下，包括流离失所、贫困和袭击”。
另请阅读:解释卢旺达:从政治到人权和难民
仅在刚果民主共和国东部就有超过12万人流离失所，并有可能蔓延到邻国甚至更远的地方。
事实上，根据观察家周刊最近的一篇报道，最近几周，英国不得不接受几个卢旺达反对派的声音作为寻求庇护者。
但是，到目前为止还没有一个寻求庇护者从英国被送往卢旺达，人们质疑2.8亿欧元的计划是否有助于卡加梅政权的腰包，以支持M23，而英国的立法者正忙着决定卢旺达是否可以被视为安全。
另请阅读:英国:卢旺达难民的避风港——反之亦然
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