UK: Teather (Jesuit Refugee Service), “plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda remains inhumane and absurd”

The plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda “remains as inhumane as it is absurd. It will destroy lives, plunge vulnerable people into danger and sees us abandon our duty towards people seeking sanctuary” in the UK. “And all for the sake of an election gimmick”, said Sarah Teather, director of the Jesuit Refugee Service in London, a reception centre for refugees and asylum seekers run by the Jesuits in the United Kingdom, commenting on the announcement by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that the first flights to the African country will begin in the next 10 to 12 weeks. The Safety of Rwanda Bill, namely the legislation providing for the deportation of thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda in exchange for hundreds of millions of euros, launched by the Conservative Party two years ago, could be approved this week. British courts and the European Court of Human Rights have repeatedly stated that the plan violates the human rights of asylum seekers, and the UK Supreme Court has ruled the African country unsafe. The Jesuit Refugee Service also expressed concern since, in recent weeks, the Home Office has begun contacting migrants who were denied asylum rights in the UK, offering them the opportunity to depart voluntarily.
Silvia Guzzetti