Africa-Press – Rwanda. Medical Justice, a charity organisation in the UK said the Home office is scheduled to airlift about 51 Asylum seekers and relocate them to far away Rwanda in East Africa.
According to research by charity Medical Justice said it had identified 51 people who had been told by the Home Office they would be sent to Rwanda. Most of these asylum seekers are victims of torture from their countries of origin.
The Rwanda asylum plan, officially the UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership, is an immigration policy first proposed by the British government, whereby individuals identified by the United Kingdom as being illegal immigrants or asylum seekers will be relocated to Rwanda for processing, asylum and resettlement.
The UK Home Office’s £120m plan aims to send some of those who cross the English Channel on to the African nation to have their claims dealt with there.
If they are found to be in genuine need of protection, Rwanda would offer them resettlement, rather than sending them back to the UK.
The plan is widely opposed by asylum experts, including the United Nations’ refugee agency.
The first planned flight was aborted in June after the European Court of Human Rights said judges in London must first rule on whether it was lawful. The Supreme Court’s judicial review into the policy has now been postponed to September.
Next week’s major court case challenging the Rwanda plan may become one of the most complex legal battles in recent years against a controversial government policy.
A second stage of the case in October will look in detail at the selection criteria for those warned they will be removed.
A Home Office spokesman said Medical Justice’s warnings that vulnerable people would be removed to Rwanda were wrong.
“We have been clear from the start that no one will be relocated if it is unsafe or inappropriate for them,” said a spokesman.
“Our thorough assessment of Rwanda has found that it is a fundamentally safe and secure country, with a track record of supporting asylum seekers.”
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