UK resolution to deport migrants to Rwanda delayed until after Easter

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Mar 2024 21:57

The controversial bill is unlikely to become law before mid-April.

Protesters stand outside the Supreme Court in London, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023. (AP)

The Guardian reported on Friday, citing insider sources, that the UK government is considering postponing the Rwanda Deportation Bill until after Easter. Such a move is likely to provoke anger among Conservative members.

The scheduled second exchange of the bill between the upper and lower houses of the UK parliament was set for March 25 and 26, just before the three-week Easter recess. However, according to the sources cited, it has now been removed from the agenda.

"They've basically said to us we won't see it again until after Easter," a Labour source was quoted as saying.

This means that the controversial bill is unlikely to become law before mid-April, The Guardian said.

The delay is expected to frustrate Conservative lawmakers who have been dissatisfied with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's handling of illegal migration.

In 2022, Rwanda and the UK signed a migration agreement that would enable the government to deport individuals identified as undocumented migrants or asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing, asylum, and resettlement.

The plan has drawn criticism from human rights organizations and some politicians who believe the measure will not help stem the flow of migrants. Although the first deportation flight was slated for June 2022, it never occurred due to the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights, which deemed it unlawful.

Following a ruling by the UK Supreme Court that the initial scheme failed to ensure the safety of asylum seekers, the UK government was compelled to draft a new agreement last year.

In January this year, the House of Commons voted in the final reading in favor of a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. It now needs to be approved by the unelected upper chamber House of Lords before it becomes law.