UK’s First Flight With Asylum Seekers to Rwanda Scheduled for Tuesday

The UK sending asylum seekers to off-shore processing centres in the Sub-Saharan African nation of Rwanda is part the British government's plan to tackle soaring numbers of illegal immigrants being trafficked across the English Channel from mainland Europe.

The first flight with asylum seekers is due to leave one of London’s airports for the Rwandan capital of Kigali later on Tuesday, in line with the UK High Court’s ruling, which was earlier opposed by human rights campaigners.

It remains unclear how many asylum seekers will be onboard, with the NGO Care4Calais tweeting that 31 migrants were due to be deported but that 23 of them had allegedly now had their tickets cancelled.

The purported eight, who are scheduled to be sent to Kigali on Tuesday, include Albanians, Iraqis, Iranians and a Syrian, according to Care4Calais.

The BBC cited a UK government spokesman as admitting that three last-ditch legal challenges were expected ahead of the flight, but that Downing Street “will not be deterred" from starting the process of deporting the asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Church of England leaders, including the most senior cleric the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, have meanwhile slammed the government's plan as an “immoral policy that shames Britain”.

In the 14 June open letter to The Times, the religious leaders argued that “whether or not the first deportation flight leaves Britain today for Rwanda, this policy should shame us as a nation."

“The shame is our own, because our Christian heritage should inspire us to treat asylum seekers with compassion, fairness and justice, as we have for centuries,” they added.

The leaders also called for tackling “evil trafficking” by the provision of safe routes for migrants seeking to enter the UK, adding, “deportations and the potential forced return of asylum seekers to their home countries are not the way.”

A protester holds a placard as she stands outside the Home Office in central London on June 13, 2022, to demonstrate against the UK government's intention to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda

© AFP 2023 / NIKLAS HALLE'N

They were echoed by UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi who dubbed the UK government policy on migrants “all wrong” and said it should not be “exporting its responsibility to another country”.

This came after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told LBC Radio on Monday that the policy is needed to stop a flood of migrant crossings of the Channel from France.

“It's very important that the criminal gangs who are putting people's lives at risk in the Channel understand that their business model is going to be broken. They're selling people falsely, luring them into something that is extremely risky and criminal,” Johnson said.

The remarks followed human rights activists appealing against a decision by the UK High Court last week to greenlight the first flight with asylum seekers to Kigali. The UK Court of Appeal court, however, said that it "cannot interfere" with the original decision.

Rwanda Asylum Deal

On 14 April, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel and Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Vincent Birut signed a bilateral asylum pact that granted an initial down-payment of £120m ($157 million) to the Rwandan government. Under the deal, adult migrants who illegally arrived in the UK seeking sanctuary since January would be liable to be given a one­-way ticket for processing and resettlement in Rwanda.

According to the agreement, after asylum claims are processed by London within a period of three months, those successful would have the option to stay in the East African country for at least five years should they wish to.

The deal stipulates that people relocated to Rwanda "will be given support, including up to five years of education, vocational and skills training, as well as integration, accommodation, and healthcare, so that they can resettle and thrive”.

The accord was inked in sync with the UK government's so-called "New Plan for Immigration" which aims to stem the escalating migrant crisis in Britain. So far this year, at least 10,000 migrants have crossed the Channel to the UK, analysis of government figures by the PA news agency shows.

The authorities don’t rule out that this year may see a record 60,000 people trafficked to Britain by sea in dangerously overloaded small boats. Last year, more than 28,500 migrants crossed the English Channel to reach the UK, up from over 8,400 in 2020.