Great Britain: Dispute over asylum pact: British Prime Minister escapes defeat

Great Britain
Dispute over asylum pact: British Prime Minister avoids defeat

In the dispute over the British asylum pact with Rwanda, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak escaped a major defeat in Parliament. In the second reading, the majority of MPs voted in favor of a hastily introduced government bill that is intended to save the asylum pact with Rwanda that was declared unlawful by the highest court.

There had previously been great doubts as to whether Sunak could get the required majority behind him. Both the right and left wings of his party had major reservations about the proposed law. Ultimately, 313 MPs voted for the bill and 269 voted against it.

Expulsions after Rwanda

In order to deter migrants, London wants to send irregular arrivals to Rwanda in the future without examining their asylum applications and regardless of their origin. Instead, they should seek protection there – there are no plans to return to Great Britain. However, the British Supreme Court had raised concerns about the Rwandan asylum process and declared the plan unlawful in mid-November.

In order to allay these concerns, the government in London now wants to declare Rwanda a safe third country by law and at the same time exclude legal recourse in Great Britain citing human rights. Critics, including from his own party, accused him of overriding the principles of the rule of law. For others, the push didn’t go far enough. They demanded that the possibility of going to international courts be ruled out by law.

Sunak has made it a central focus of his government to end the irregular entry of migrants in small boats across the English Channel. In 2022 alone, around 45,000 people came to Great Britain this way. So far this year the number is significantly lower. Nevertheless, the promise is not considered fulfilled.

dpa