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UK pushes forward with Rwanda deportation plan despite huge criticism
Some of the protesters against the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda
The government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the United Kingdom has indicated it will not be deterred by criticism including from religious clerics and UN officials, in its efforts to transfer asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda later on Tuesday.
The leaders of both the Protestant and Catholic Churches in the UK and other human rights activists greatly condemned the decision by the Boris Johnson’s government and called it immoral.
UK gov’t pushes forward with Rwanda asylum deportation plan despite unprecedented criticism.
The government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the United Kingdom has indicated it will not be deterred by criticism including from religious clerics and UN officials, in its efforts to transfer asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda later on Tuesday.
The leaders of both the Protestant and Catholic Churches in the UK and other human rights activists greatly condemned the decision by the Boris Johnson’s government and called it immoral.
All the bishops in the UK’s upper house of Parliament, the House of Lords, on Tuesday wrote a letter that was published in the Times newspaper of Britain, saying that the government’s policy to deport migrants who entered the country illegally to Rwanda “shames Britain”.
In their letter, the bishops said:
“Whether or not the first deportation flight leaves Britain today for Rwanda, this policy should shame us as a nation. Rwanda is a brave country recovering from catastrophic genocide. 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.
“Whether or not the first deportation flight leaves Britain today for Rwanda, this policy should shame us as a nation. Rwanda is a brave country recovering from catastrophic genocide. 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.
The bishops added: “Many are desperate people fleeing unspeakable horrors. Many are Iranians, Eritreans and Sudanese citizens, who have an asylum grant rate of at least 88%.
We cannot offer asylum to everyone, but we must not outsource our ethical responsibilities, or discard international law – which protects the right to claim asylum. We must end the evil trafficking; many churches are involved in fighting this evil.”
Reports by UK Media say that only four people out of a long list of 130 were still scheduled to be put on the Rwanda-bound flight after majority petitioned the courts to stay their movement.
Hundreds of people protested outside the seat of government in the UK against the government’s plan but PM Johnson said his plan would not be derailed but opposition, allegedly including from Prince Charles.
Johnson said: “We’re not going to be in anyway deterred or abashed by some of the criticism that is being directed upon this policy, some of it from slightly unexpected quarters. We are going to get on and deliver.”
Johnson’s government says it’s trying to discourage gangs of human traffickers who lure people and expose them to a lot of suffering, in the effort to get them asylum in the UK.
In Rwanda, where the refugees are set to be deported, the BBC reported that the Rwandan government has refurbished a hostel that formerly served as a facility for hosting victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
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