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Agence France-Presse

Britain on Thursday said a new treaty to send migrants to Rwanda could be ready for ratification “within days” after a court blocked an earlier and controversial agreement as unlawful.
The new treaty, which would then take at least three weeks to be approved by UK lawmakers, follows a Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday that the current deal between the two countries should not go ahead.
It was a major setback for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is under pressure to reduce irregular immigration to Britain.
Sunak immediately vowed to persevere with the controversial plan by securing a new treaty with Kigali.
UK government accused of trying to deport minors to Rwanda
A five-judge panel at the UK’s highest court had unanimously sided with an earlier Court of Appeal decision that the policy to deport asylum seekers and refugees to Rwanda was incompatible with Britain’s international obligations.
The judges agreed it was not a safe third country and there were “substantial grounds” to believe it could forcibly return migrants to places where they could face persecution.
Sunak has announced plans to introduce “emergency legislation” to parliament to designate Rwanda a safe country to end the “merry-go-round” of legal challenges.
“It is ready pretty much now to turn into a treaty that can be done within days – not weeks or months,” interior minister James Cleverly told Sky News on Thursday.
We’ve been told by the judges what it is we need to fix in order to get these flights off the ground – we are fixing those things
James Cleverly, UK interior minister
He added the legally-binding treaty would stipulate Kigali cannot deport migrants sent from Britain onto other countries which could be deemed dangerous, in a bid to negate the legal concerns.
“We’ve been told by the judges what it is we need to fix in order to get these flights off the ground – we are fixing those things,” Cleverly said in another interview with Times Radio.
The Migration and Economic Development Partnership agreed in April last year envisages sending to Rwanda anyone who has made what London calls “dangerous or illegal journeys” to Britain on boats and hidden in lorries.

The first deportees were aboard a plane to fly to the African country in June 2022 when a last-minute ECHR injunction prevented any deportations, prompting the legal challenges.
The government insists the scheme is crucial to deter “illegal” immigration across the Channel from France on inflatable vessels – an emotive issue set to feature prominently in the next general election.
More than 27,000 have made the perilous journey this year – down on the nearly 46,000 who crossed in 2022, but still far short of meeting Sunak’s vow to “stop the boats”.
UK signals it could exit human rights convention after Rwanda ruling
The Supreme Court decision has exposed rifts in the ruling Conservative Party over the issue, and is set to prompt a renewed push from right-wingers for withdrawal from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Sunak said Wednesday that if the court “chooses to intervene against the express wishes of parliament, I am prepared to do what is necessary to get the flights off”.
But in his interviews, Cleverly noted that Britain’s “preferred option” was to remain in the ECHR.
“We don’t think we’re going to need to [leave],” he said.


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Britain

UK PM Rishi Sunak fights to save Rwanda migrants treaty; reworked plan could be ready in ‘days’

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he is not giving up on deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda and suggested he would be willing to change British laws to make it happen. Photo: Bloomberg

Migrants are escorted ashore from a UK Border Force vessel in Dover, southeast England, on November 16, 2023, after having been picked up at sea while attempting to cross the English Channel. Photo: AFP

UK PM Rishi Sunak seeks new Rwanda deal, as Supreme Court calls migrant plan illegal

Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak holds a press conference at Downing Street on Wednesday following the Supreme Court’s Rwanda policy judgement. Photo: AP

Protesters stand outside the UK Supreme Court in London on Wednesday. Photo: AP

UK court rules plan to relocate asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful, in setback for Rishi Sunak

Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing a setback after a court decision ruling against his plans for asylum seekers. Photo: Jessica Taylor via PA and dpa

Officers from the UK’s National Crime Agency enter a property on June 19 of a man accused of being a member of a group arranging small boat crossings and truck journeys for migrants. Photo: dpa

UK home secretary Suella Braverman in Rwanda to reinforce migrant deportation plan

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman meets graduate builders in Kigali, Rwanda on Saturday. The graduates will be helping to construct houses that could house deported migrants from the UK. Photo: PA Wire / dpa

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman disembarks her plane as she arrives at Kigali International Airport, Rwanda on Saturday. Photo: PA Wire / dpa

Court rules that UK’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is legal

Members of the Stand up to Racism protest group demonstrate against the deportations of Refugees to Rwanda at the High Court in London on December 19. Photo:  EPA-EFE

Migrants, picked up at sea attempting to cross the English Channel, are helped ashore from a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat, at Dungeness on the southeast coast of England. Photo: AFP

The exterior of Hope Hostel, which is getting ready to welcome the migrants from the UK in Kigali, Rwanda. Photo: AFP

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The new treaty, which would take 3 weeks to be approved by UK lawmakers, follows a Supreme Court ruling that the current deal between the countries not go ahead
The government insists the plan is crucial to deter ‘illegal’ immigration from France on inflatable vessels


The new treaty, which would take at least three weeks to be approved by UK lawmakers, follows a Supreme Court ruling that the current deal between the countries should not go ahead.
