[ad_1]
The United Kingdom’s first flight which was planned to take asylum seekers to Rwanda has been scheduled to depart on Tuesday.
The UK government, however, warned against last-minute legal challenges.
This was stated by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Sky News reports.
She said, “We are expecting to send the flight later today. I can’t say exactly how many people will be on the flight. But the really important thing is that we establish the principle.
“There will be people on this flight and if they are not on this flight, they will be on the next flight because we are determined to break the model of the appalling people traffickers.’’
In April, both countries signed a controversial immigration deal to take those who enter the UK illegally to the eastern African state. It was gathered that the estimate of the Bilateral agreement between the two nations was a 120-million-pound (148 million dollars) deal.
The UK paid Rwanda $158 million upfront.
Additional payments based on the number of people deported are expected to follow.
The British government explained that the policy was necessary to curb the cycle of migrants risking their lives in Channel crossings. It said it would also smash the people-smuggling networks.
But this policy has generated lots of controversies and criticisms from political opponents, charities and church leaders who have described it as inhumane.
The most notable one was when the United Nations’ refugee chief called it “catastrophic”.
The leadership of the Church of England denounced it as an “immoral policy that shames Britain”.
Also, human rights groups said the policy would put migrants at risk.
The UNHCR equally stated that Rwanda, with a human rights record under scrutiny, does not have the capacity to process the claims, and there was a risk that some migrants could be returned to countries from which they had fled.
The courts have thrown out last-ditch bids by human rights groups and campaigners to halt the first flight, but London’s High Court was set to hear further cases before it departs on Tuesday evening.
Due to the ongoing trial on the matter, at least three High Court appeals were still to be heard. Only a few people are now registered to leave on that first plane.
Some 37 individuals had been scheduled to be removed, which charities said included people fleeing Afghanistan and Syria as well as Iran and Iraq.
[ad_2]
