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Rwanda to begin trials for vaccine to fatal Marburg virus

Additionally, measures such as banning visits to hospitalised patients and restricting gatherings related to Marburg deaths have been implemented….reports Asian Lite News

Rwanda is preparing to initiate vaccine and therapeutic trials for Marburg virus disease in the coming days.  The country has reported 36 confirmed cases and 11 fatalities since the outbreak began last month. Currently, there are no approved treatments or vaccines for this disease, as confirmed by health officials Thursday.

“About to start vaccine and therapeutic clinical trials to protect high-risk groups. Let’s work together to contain this,” Rwandan Minister of State in the Ministry of Health Yvan Butera wrote in a post on X.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Rwanda Country Representative Brian Chilombo said that this initiative is part of a broader effort initiated two years ago involving 17 African nations willing to participate in clinical trials, Xinhua news agency reported.

During a television appearance on Wednesday, Chilombo said the WHO is working with Rwanda to get their scientists ready. “There are some drugs and some vaccines not approved yet but of promise. So in the next few days actually we will be bringing in some of those therapeutics and vaccines, working with not only the government, but also manufacturers, other countries, and donors. For Marburg, we are looking forward to being able to come up with some therapeutics and vaccines that we can use,” he said.

As part of their response, Rwandan health officials are actively monitoring 410 contacts of confirmed cases to prevent further transmission. Additionally, measures such as banning visits to hospitalised patients and restricting gatherings related to Marburg deaths have been implemented.

The health ministry has also urged anyone experiencing symptoms such as high fever, severe headaches, and vomiting to seek medical attention promptly.

Meanwhile, authorities said that they are closely monitoring up to 300 individuals identified as contacts of confirmed Marburg virus cases since an outbreak hit the country.  As of Sunday, the Ministry of Health reported that 26 people have contracted the virus, including eight fatalities.

During a press conference in Kigali on Sunday evening, Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana did not rule out the possibility of more cases. He said that to mitigate the risk of disease transmission, identified contacts are being isolated in various locations and managed according to their levels of exposure to infected individuals.

Medical workers perform disinfection for a demarcated Ebola treatment center at the Mubende Regional Hospital in Mubende District, Uganda, Sept. 21, 2022. (Photo by Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua/IANS)

Nsanzimana urged the public to remain calm, emphasising that ongoing response efforts are focused on contact tracing, expedited testing, treatment, and ensuring the dissemination of accurate information about the disease.

“People can continue with their daily activities as there is no ban on any activity as part of the Marburg prevention measures. People should not panic as we have identified all the hotspots of the disease and are taking appropriate action,” he said.

Reaffirming Rwanda’s readiness to contain the outbreak, the minister urged the public to observe preventive measures, while the ministry continues to investigate the origins of the outbreak.

At the same press conference, Brian Chilombo, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Rwanda, highlighted the country’s robust community healthcare system, which facilitates contact tracing and efforts to contain the virus.

He noted that the WHO is prepared to provide additional testing equipment, and some experimental treatments, and that a team of seven expert researchers specialising in the virus will arrive in Rwanda in the coming days to enhance the country’s healthcare capacity and improve understanding of the disease. The Ministry of Health has advised anyone experiencing symptoms such as high fever, severe headaches, vomiting, muscle pain, or stomach aches to visit their nearest health facility

Uganda starts Ebola vaccination

Meanwhile, Uganda’s Ministry of Health has announced the launch of a comprehensive Ebola preventive vaccination campaign targeting 25,000 people at high risk of contracting the deadly disease.

Charles Olaro, Director of Health Services at the ministry, said in a statement issued here Thursday that the initiative aims to safeguard vulnerable populations and enhance preparedness against the viral disease in the country.

Olaro said the ministry has acquired 25,000 Ebola vaccine regimens. The two-dose regimen has previously been used in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, with “Zabdeno” administered first and “Mvabea” given about eight weeks later as a second dose.

“This initiative is part of ongoing efforts to combat the Ebola threat in the region and protect the health and safety of Ugandans,” Olaro said. “We call on all stakeholders to support and participate in this vital vaccination campaign to help safeguard our communities from Ebola,” he added.

According to the Ministry of Health, the first round of the Ebola vaccination exercise kicked off on September 23, and the second round will be conducted on November 23.

Olaro said the priority groups for vaccination include health workers, armed forces, refugees, immigration personnel, and birth attendants. The Ebola virus is highly contagious and causes a range of symptoms, including fever, vomiting, diarrhea, generalized pain or malaise, and, in many cases, internal and external bleeding.

According to the World Health Organization, the mortality rates for Ebola fever are extremely high, with the human case fatality rate ranging from 50 percent to 89 percent, depending on the viral subtype.

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Campaigning opens in Rwanda presidential election

The election commission also barred Kagame critic Diane Rwigara, saying she had failed to provide a criminal record statement as required and had not met the threshold of acquiring 600 supporting signatures from citizens…reports Asian Lite News

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame defended his country’s democratic credentials as campaigning opened on Saturday for the July 15 presidential election, with the incumbent widely expected to extend his 24-year iron-fisted rule over the Great Lakes nation.

Nine million Rwandans are registered to vote in the poll concurrently with legislative elections.

Kagame has been Rwanda’s de facto ruler since the end of the 1994 genocide.

President since 2000, the 66-year-old will face the same rivals as he did in 2017: the leader of the opposition Democratic Green Party, Frank Habineza, and former journalist Philippe Mpayimana, who is running as an independent.

Rwandan courts rejected appeals from top opposition figures Bernard Ntaganda and Victoire Ingabire to remove previous convictions that effectively barred them from contesting.

The election commission also barred Kagame critic Diane Rwigara, saying she had failed to provide a criminal record statement as required and had not met the threshold of acquiring 600 supporting signatures from citizens.

The daughter of industrialist Assinapol Rwigara, a former major donor to Kagame’s Rwandan Patriotic Front party who fell out with its leaders, the 42-year-old was arrested and disqualified from running in 2017 over allegations of forgery before being acquitted.

Speaking at a rally attended by thousands of supporters, many of whom were ferried by bus to the venue, Kagame defended Rwanda’s record on democracy in an apparent swipe at allegations of stifling opposition.

“People usually disagree on democracy or understand it differently. But for us, we have our understanding of it. Democracy means choice, choosing what is good for you and what you want,” he told a cheering crowd in the northern town of Musanze.

“Nothing is better than being Rwandan, but even better, nothing is better than being your leader … I came here to thank you, not to ask for your votes.”

Elected by parliament in 2000 after the resignation of former president Pasteur Bizimungu, Kagame won three elections, with more than 90 percent of the ballot in 2003, 2010, and 2017, taking home nearly 99 percent of votes in the most recent poll.

He has been praised for Rwanda’s economic recovery after the genocide but faces criticism over rights abuses and political repression.

In a statement published last week, Human Rights Watch accused the government of a long-running crackdown on the opposition, media, and civil society.

“The threat of physical harm, arbitrary judicial proceedings, and long prison sentences, which can often lead to torture, have effectively deterred many Rwandans from engaging in opposition activities and demanding accountability from their political leaders,” said Clementine de Montjoye, senior Africa researcher at HRW.

In 2015, Kagame presided over controversial constitutional amendments, potentially allowing him to rule until 2034.

These shortened presidential terms from seven to five years and reset the clock for Kagame, allowing him to rule in a transitional capacity from 2017 to 2024 and then for two five-year terms until 2034.

The legislative elections will feature more than 500 candidates, with voters electing 53 out of 80 lawmakers.

The 27 remaining seats in the parliament are reserved for independent candidates, including 24 women, two young representatives, and one disabled person.

Currently, Kagame’s party and its allies hold 49 of the 53 seats in the lower house.

Opposition challenger Habineza’s Democratic Green Party has two seats, as does the Social Party Imberakuri.

The women lawmakers are elected by municipal and regional councilors, the youth representatives by the National Youth Council and the disabled candidate chosen by the Federation of Associations of the Disabled.

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Flights deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda to start on July 23

The new date emerged in a vital timetabling hearing relating to two of the legal challenges the Rwanda legislation now faces…reports Asian Lite News

The government has told the High Court that it has delayed the possible start of sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda – casting further doubt on the timetable for the policy.

Lawyers for the home secretary today confirmed to a senior judge that there would be no flight before 24 July – almost three weeks after the general election.

The confirmation comes after weeks of pressure from a judge who has been demanding clarity.

In a short ruling this afternoon, the court also opened the door to more claims coming to court in the week ahead.

The new date emerged in a vital timetabling hearing relating to two of the legal challenges the Rwanda legislation now faces.

The Rwanda policy will remain in operation only if Rishi Sunak is returned to Downing Street – but the plan could still face months of legal challenges all the way to the Supreme Court.

Last week Justice Chamberlain – a senior judge who oversees challenges to government policies – revealed that ministers had been “apparently unable” to tell his court when the first flight would leave.

The judge needs to know the date so that he can fairly timetable claims to give both sides time to prepare their cases – but government lawyers kept changing the date after the prime minister had said publicly it would not be until after polling day on 4 July.

During today’s hearing, the barrister for the Home Office told the judge the earliest date for a flight would now be 23 July. He later revised that to 24 July, after receiving an “operational update” during the hearing from officials in the department.

Justice Chamberlain said the challenges were “all going to be subject to the outcome of the general election… but we obviously can’t make any predictions about that.”

He added: “There is a public interest in the determination of these issues… before the earliest date on which flights may be.”

Specialist courts that deal with immigration cases have so far released at least 24 people who have been detained since April for the first Rwanda flight. More bail applications are expected to be heard in the coming days.

At least 20 individuals appear to have now begun substantial legal challenges against the Rwanda plan – any one of which could end up in the Supreme Court.

Setting a timetable in one of those cases today, Justice Chamberlain said that a man who arrived in the UK in May 2022, claiming he had been tortured in Sudan, would see his case go to a major hearing in the weeks to come.

The judge said it was possible that other migrants would be considering launching similarly challenges and would end up joining this case.

The FDA union, which represents senior government officials, is separately asking a judge to rule whether the relocation scheme forces civil servants to break the law.

The Conservatives say it is essential to stop small boats crossing the English Channel and will act as a deterrent to people smuggling – but Labour says it is an expensive gimmick and Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to scrap it immediately.

Similarly, the Liberal Democrats have pledged to scrap the Rwanda scheme, calling it a “failing policy”, while the SNP, the Green Party and Plaid Cymru have all criticised the policy.

Reform UK’s now former leader Richard Tice has criticised those who are against the Rwanda scheme, stating in April that “pick up and take back” is the “only policy that will stop the boats”.

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UK sends first asylum seeker to Rwanda

The government refuses tens of thousands of asylum applications each year but, under international human rights law, is not permitted to return people to war-torn or authoritarian countries…reports Asian Lite News

A man has been sent to Rwanda under a voluntary relocation scheme for failed asylum seekers set up by the UK government, in what officials are keen to present as a “proof of concept” for their enforced removal scheme.

Earlier this year, the government started offering failed asylum seekers who cannot be returned to their home country £3,000 to voluntarily relocate to Rwanda instead of remaining in the UK.

The first flight carrying a person to Rwanda under the scheme, which was first reported by the Sun, took off on Monday, according to a person briefed on the move.

The government refuses tens of thousands of asylum applications each year but, under international human rights law, is not permitted to return people to war-torn or authoritarian countries, including Afghanistan and Iran.

The voluntary payments programme is separate to the treaty signed between London and Kigali last year, under which the government hopes to forcibly remove asylum seekers arriving in the UK irregularly to the African nation to seek asylum there.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he planned to put the first flights in the air carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda under this as-yet untested scheme by July. He argues that it will deter other migrants looking to travel to the UK by small boats in search of refuge.

Sunak is facing a difficult week as the Conservatives brace for potentially catastrophic losses in the local and mayoral elections on Thursday, which could lead to a leadership challenge spearheaded by rebel Tory MPs.

Over the past year, he has sought to use a platform of being tough on migration to win over disillusioned voters.

Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said “the Tories are so desperate to get any flight off to Rwanda before the local elections that they have now just paid someone to go”.

“British taxpayers aren’t just forking out £3,000 for a volunteer to board a plane, they are also paying Rwanda to provide him with free board and lodgings for the next five years,” she said. “This extortionate pre-election gimmick is likely to be costing on average £2mn per person.”

A government spokesperson said: “We are now able to send asylum seekers to Rwanda under our migration and economic development partnership. This deal allows people with no immigration status in the UK to be relocated to a safe third country where they will be supported to rebuild their lives.”

Sunak’s Rwanda plan has faced successive setbacks over the past two years, including a Supreme Court ruling that the scheme was unlawful because Rwanda could not be considered a safe country.

The government responded by drafting legislation — which entered the statute books this month — designating Rwanda as a safe country and disapplying tracts of British human rights law that could leave the scheme open to legal challenge.

The scheme — which the UK’s spending watchdog warned could cost the government more the £500mn — has faced criticism from opposition parties and migrant rights groups who argue it will not have the deterrent effect the Tories claim.

However, the British Home Office did not confirm the reports.

“We are now able to send asylum seekers to Rwanda under our migration and economic development partnership,” a government spokesperson said.

“This deal allows people with no immigration status in the UK to be relocated to a safe third country where they will be supported to rebuild their lives.”

The British government on Tuesday said it expects to deport 5,700 migrants to Rwanda this year in the scheme aimed at deterring migrant arrivals on small boats from northern Europe.

More than 57,000 people arrived on small boats after trying to cross the Channel between January 2022 and June last year, according to official statistics.

The British government on Tuesday said it expects to deport 5,700 migrants to Rwanda this year in the scheme aimed at deterring migrant arrivals on small boats from northern Europe.

More than 57,000 people arrived on small boats after trying to cross the Channel between January 2022 and June last year, according to official statistics.

A record 45,000 migrants crossed the Channel in 2022 but already more than 7,200 people did so in the first four months of this year — a historical high for the period.

Rwanda, home to 13 million people in Africa’s Great Lakes region, lays claim to being one of the most stable countries on the continent and has drawn praise for its modern infrastructure.

But rights groups accuse veteran President Paul Kagame of ruling in a climate of fear, stifling dissent and free speech.

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Council of Europe slams UK asylum pact with Rwanda

In 2022, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which is part of the Council of Europe, prevented the UK from sending asylum seekers of different nationalities by plane to Rwanda…reports Asian Lite News

The Council of Europe, a European rights body, has sharply criticised the UK for its controversial asylum pact with Rwanda.

“The UK government should refrain from removing people under the Rwanda policy and reverse the Bill’s effective infringement of judicial independence,” said the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, in Strasbourg on Tuesday. The law raises questions about the human rights of asylum seekers and the rule of law in general, he said.

The Council of Europe is independent of the EU and was founded in 1949 to protect democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe.

The British bill, which was approved by the House of Lords on Tuesday night after lengthy opposition, declares Rwanda a safe third country by law. In doing so, the government wants to prevent appeals against deportations before British courts.

The asylum pact with Rwanda stipulates that irregular migrants will no longer be given the opportunity to apply for asylum in the UK. Instead, they are to be taken to Rwanda and apply for asylum there.

The regulation is intended to deter people from making the dangerous crossing across the English Channel in small boats. However, opponents doubt that the law will deter migrants.

“Managing asylum and migration is undoubtedly a complex endeavour for states, but it must always be done in full compliance with international standards,” O’Flaherty said.

The British law “is another representation of an ongoing trend towards externalization of asylum and migration policy in Europe, which is a matter of concern for the global system of protection of the rights of refugees,” he said.

In 2022, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which is part of the Council of Europe, prevented the UK from sending asylum seekers of different nationalities by plane to Rwanda.

Earlier, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said, “Settling questions of disputed fact — questions with enormous human rights consequences — is what the courts do … It should be for the courts to decide whether the measures taken by the government since the Supreme Court’s ruling on risks in Rwanda are enough. You cannot legislate facts out of existence. It is deeply concerning to carve out one group of people, or people in one particular situation, from the equal protection of the law. This is antithetical to even-handed justice, available and accessible to all, without discrimination.”

The UN human rights office has reiterated the concerns expressed by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) that the scheme is not compatible with international refugee law, the statement said.

“The combined effects of this Bill, attempting to shield government action from standard legal scrutiny, directly undercut basic human rights principles,” Turk added.

“Such a stance is today more vital than ever.”

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UK Parliament passes Rwanda asylum law

The home secretary, James Cleverly, says it was a “landmark moment in our plan to stop the boats”…reports Asian Lite News

Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda deportation bill will become law after peers eventually backed down on amending it, opening the way for legal battles over the potential removal of dozens of people seeking asylum.

After a marathon battle of “ping pong” over the key legislation between the Commons and the Lords, the bill finally passed when opposition and crossbench peers gave way on Monday night.

The bill is expected to be granted royal assent on Tuesday. Home Office sources said they have already identified a group of asylum seekers with weak legal claims to remain in the UK who will be part of the first tranche to be sent to east Africa in July.

Sunak has put the bill, which would deport asylum seekers who arrive in the UK by irregular means to Kigali, at the centre of his attempts to stop small boats crossing the Channel.

The home secretary, James Cleverly, said it was a “landmark moment in our plan to stop the boats”.

In a video posted to social media, he said: “The safety of Rwanda bill has passed in parliament and it will become law within days.

“The act will prevent people from abusing the law by using false human rights claims to block removals. And it makes clear that the UK parliament is sovereign, giving government the power to reject interim blocking measures imposed by European courts. I promised to do what was necessary to clear the path for the first flight. That’s what we have done. Now we’re working day in and day out to get flights off the ground.”

Denisa Delić, director of advocacy at International Rescue Committee UK, said on Monday: “Irrespective of today’s passage of the safety of Rwanda bill, sending refugees to Rwanda is an ineffective, unnecessarily cruel and costly approach.

“Rather than outsourcing its responsibilities under international law, we urge the government to abandon this misguided plan and instead focus on delivering a more humane and orderly immigration system at home. This includes scaling up safe routes, such as resettlement and family reunion, and upholding the right to seek asylum.”

The Home Office has whittled the list down to 350 migrants who are deemed to pose the least risk of submitting successful legal challenges blocking their deportation.

Lawyers said that they will prepare legal challenges on behalf of individual asylum seekers. They can challenge their removal on a case-by-case basis, which could lead to their being taken off a flight list.

The bill allows challenges if a detainee faces a “real, imminent and foreseeable risk of serious irreversible harm if removed to Rwanda”.

They must lodge an appeal within eight days of receiving a deportation letter. The Home Office would then be given several days to respond. If their appeal is rejected, the person claiming asylum will then be given seven days to lodge a final appeal to an upper tribunal court, which will decide their claim within a further 23 days.

The deal will cost £1.8m for each of the first 300 deportees, the National Audit Office has confirmed.

Matthew Rycroft, the most senior civil servant in the Home Office who has overseen the scheme for two years, previously told MPs he did not have evidence to show that it had a deterrent effect that would make it value for money.

Home Office staff have privately warned that there is a risk of thousands of asylum seekers disappearing once removals begin, keen to avoid receiving notification that they are being sent to Kigali.

Earlier, MPs stripped out amendments to the bill inserted by the Lords. Crossbench and Labour peers said they would reinsert similar changes in a battle of wills.

The government will not send those who are eligible under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) to Rwanda, a Home Office minister told peers during one of the many debates held on Monday evening.

Lord Sharpe said: “Once this review of Arap decisions for those with credible links to Afghan specialist units has concluded, the government will not remove to Rwanda those who received a positive eligibility decision as a result of this review where they are already in the UK as of today.”

Lord Browne, a Labour former defence secretary who had been leading calls for such an assurance, said: “The minister does not believe this to be a concession, it is to him a restatement of what he has been telling us for some time, but in a different form.”

Meanwhile, leading lawyer and independent crossbencher Lord Anderson of Ipswich said of the Rwanda scheme: “Its benefits remain to be seen. Its costs will be measured, not only in money, but in principles debased: disregard for our international commitments, avoiding statutory protections for the vulnerable, and the removal of judicial scrutiny over the core issue of the safety of Rwanda.”

The prime minister also disclosed that the first flights removing asylum seekers to Rwanda were planned to depart in 10 to 12 weeks, missing his original spring target.

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Fresh trouble for Sunak over Rwanda bill

The Safety of Rwanda Bill returns to the Lower House, triggering a democratic process referred to as parliamentary ping-pong between the two chambers…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s flagship legislation aimed at flying illegal migrants out to Rwanda, which has been plagued with delays and parliamentary hurdles, returns to the House of Commons on Monday on its journey towards becoming law.

The Safety of Rwanda Bill returns to the Lower House after the House of Lords made amendments and sent it back to the Commons, triggering a democratic process referred to as parliamentary ping-pong between the two chambers.

The peers want to water down the hardline legislation that seeks to deem the East African country safe in law to block legal challenges to migrants being flown out to Rwanda while their asylum claims are assessed.

It returns its voting journey as Parliament resumes after an Easter recess and the fresh wrangles over the bill unfold against the backdrop of small boat crossings by asylum seekers across the English Channel hitting a new daily high for 2024 – at 534 on Sunday. It will be seen as a fresh blow to Sunak, who has made “stopping the boats” a central plank of his leadership as the UK prepares for a general election later this year.

“We remain committed to building on the successes that saw arrivals drop by more than a third last year, including tougher legislation and agreements with international partners, in order to save lives and stop the boats,” said a Home Office spokesperson.

Flying out these migrants to Rwanda while their asylum claims are assessed is a key aspect of the Sunak-led government’s immigration strategy and expected to act as a significant deterrent for migrants making treacherous journeys to arrive at UK shores. However, two years after the plan was first announced, there is no clarity on the first flights taking off for the Rwandan capital of Kigali.

Meanwhile, a report in The Times on Monday references leaked government documents to claim that the UK plans to replicate the Rwanda migrant deportation scheme with other countries, with an initial list including Armenia, Ivory Coast, Costa Rica and Botswana.

Several South American countries including Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Brazil and Colombia have also been approached but are viewed as less likely to be interested in what the British government describes as a “third-country asylum processing deal”, the newspaper claims.

A list of African countries including Cape Verde, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Angola and Sierra Leone were put on a reserve list that would be approached if other targets failed. Some other African countries like Morocco, Tunisia, Namibia and the Gambia are said to have “explicitly declined” to enter technical discussions.

A government spokesperson said Britain is “continuing to work with a range of international partners to tackle global illegal migration challenges”.

“Our focus right now is passing the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which builds on the Illegal Migration Act, and putting plans in place to get flights off the ground as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said.

‘Doomed to fail’

Labour believes the scheme is flawed and intends to scrap it if it wins the general election, expected to be held later this year.

Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said the Rwanda scheme is “doomed to fail” calling it “fundamentally unworkable, unaffordable and unlawful”.

Sir Keir Starmer has said he would instead focus on targeting criminal gangs and negotiating new security arrangements with Europe.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Kinnock said he hoped the Conservatives “will come to understand that hard graft and common sense are always more effective than the sugar rush of a tabloid front page”.

Meanwhile, charities supporting asylum seekers are also planning to launch legal challenges “as quickly as possible” against deporting people to the east-central African country if the bill becomes law this week.

Labour peer Baroness Chakrabarti said the Lords amendments sought to improve the bill and did not attack “the central plank of the policy”.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme her own amendment would restore “the jurisdiction of domestic courts, who are defenestrated by this bill”.

However, Conservative MP Sir John Hayes said legal appeals had been used to block deportations and “frustrate” the will of Parliament and government policy.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly said flights to Rwanda would take off by spring, but refused to name a specific date.

Ministers believe the legislation will pave the way for the first removals to the country within weeks.

The Safety of Rwanda Bill declares the country safe and was introduced to Parliament after the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the government’s scheme was unlawful.

In its ruling, the court said genuine refugees being deported there would be at risk of being returned to their home countries, where they could face harm.

The Rwanda scheme was originally introduced by then-Prime Minister Johnson in April 2022 with the aim of acting as a deterrent to people from arriving in the UK on small boats across the English Channel.

It has faced a number of legal challenges since, and so far no-one has been sent to the east African country under the scheme.

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UN rights panel urges govt to drop Rwanda plan  

The Government’s plans would see people who arrive on small boats deported to Rwanda to claim asylum there, with no right to come back to the UK…reports Asian Lite News

Rishi Sunak has been urged to abandon his Rwanda scheme by a United Nations human rights watchdog. The Prime Minister hopes to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda this spring, but the legislation is still held up in Parliament.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) called on the UK Government to abandon the scheme and repeal measures already in legislation as part of Sunak’s plan to “stop the boats” crossing the English Channel.

But UK Government sources told the PA news agency the UN was guilty of “double standards” because the international body already sends refugees to Rwanda.

UN refugee agency the UNHCR has evacuated people from Libya to Rwanda, but that is a temporary and voluntary scheme.

The Government’s plans would see people who arrive on small boats deported to Rwanda to claim asylum there, with no right to come back to the UK.

The international panel was “deeply concerned about the introduction of legislative initiatives containing elements that discriminate against migrants and that seek to limit access to rights for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants”, such as the Illegal Migration Act 2023.

The committee said the law, which is intended to stop people who arrive in the UK illegally from being able to stay here, effectively amounts to an “asylum ban”.

The human rights body said it “regrets” the Rwanda plan and the Government’s efforts to adopt the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill “despite the ruling of the UK Supreme Court that the arrangement would not be compliant with international law”.

The legislation, which is due to return to the Commons when MPs come back to Westminster following the Easter break on April 15, is designed to make the Rwanda plan legally watertight following the Supreme Court defeat.

The Safety of Rwanda Bill and a treaty with Kigali are aimed at addressing concerns about the scheme and the potential for people sent to the African nation to be removed to another country – a process known as refoulement – where they could face persecution.

The UN body said the Government should pull the legislation, or repeal it if passed by Parliament, “with a view to strictly upholding the principle of non-refoulement in both law and practice”.

The report published on Thursday was issued by the Human Rights Committee, which monitors countries’ compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Its 18 members are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world.

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Sunak warned not to deport Afghan allies to Rwanda

Lord Carlile, a former terrorism legislation reviewer, called the amendments “just, fair and required.”…reports Asian Lite News

The government has been warned against letting Afghans who worked and fought alongside British and coalition forces be deported to Rwanda.

Members of the House of Lords are debating new legislation proposed to allow asylum-seekers who arrive in the UK illegally to be removed to the East African state for processing.

On Monday, peers rejected the government’s attempts to have Rwanda declared a safe country until certain safeguards are met.

In 2023, the UK Supreme Court ruled the Rwanda plan unlawful, but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pressed ahead, including trying to assert that the country is safe via legislation so as not to “frustrate the will of the (British) people.”

The Lords are also discussing changes to the legislation, proposed by former Defence Secretary Lord Browne of Ladyton, to exempt Afghans with a history of service alongside UK counterparts. Peers are due to vote on the amendments on Wednesday.

The Illegal Migration Act, given assent on July 20, 2023, states that illegal migrants who entered the UK after that date must be removed, and that asylum cannot be given to anyone who entered the country illegally on or after March 7 that year.

Lord Browne’s changes would mean foreign nationals who helped the UK Armed Forces overseas in an “exposed or meaningful manner,” or were “employed by or indirectly contracted to provide services to the UK government in an exposed or meaningful manner,” would be exempt, along with their families.

Lord Carlile, a former terrorism legislation reviewer, called the amendments “just, fair and required.”

He told The Independent: “If it is put to the vote, there will be a lot of support for not sending people who worked with Britain in Afghanistan to Rwanda — provided peers are satisfied it is drawn in a way which would not allow for people to use the system illegitimately.

“Obviously, we want to help genuine Afghans who would be in real trouble if, via Rwanda, they were returned to Afghanistan.”

He added: “We have to understand that the House of Lords cannot simply wreck government legislation, we are not trying to do that. But if there is something that is just and fair and required, then we will say to the government, ‘this is not acceptable.’”

The former chief of the UK’s general staff, Gen. Lord Dannatt, has also said he supports the proposed amendments, alongside former diplomat Tim Willasey-Wilsey, who told The Independent: “It is imperative that the House of Commons should accept Lord Browne’s amendment.”

Conservative MP Julian Lewis, former chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee, told The Independent: “I’m very sympathetic to rescuing Afghans at risk for having helped the UK Nato/Isaf forces to fight the Taliban.

“Provided that their specific service background can be verified by our MoD (Ministry of Defence) and/or individual veterans, it ought to be possible for them to apply to come here from the first safe country they reach, and it should not be necessary for them to make a risky and illegal Channel crossing.”

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Parliamentary watchdog flays Rwanda plan

Scottish National Party lawmaker Joanna Cherry, who chairs the committee, said the bill “risks untold damage to the U.K.’s reputation as a proponent of human rights.”…reports Asian Lite News

The government’s plan to send some asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda is “fundamentally incompatible” with the U.K.’s human rights obligations, a parliamentary rights watchdog said Monday, as the contentious bill returned for debate in the House of Lords.

Parliament’s unelected upper chamber is scrutinizing — and trying to change — a bill designed to overcome the U.K. Supreme Court’s ruling that the Rwanda plan is illegal. The court said in November that the East African nation is not a safe country for migrants.

The Safety of Rwanda Bill pronounces the country safe, makes it harder for migrants to challenge deportation and allows the British government to ignore injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights that seek to block removals.

Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, which has members from both government and opposition parties, said in a report that the bill “openly invites the possibility of the U.K. breaching international law” and allows British officials “to act in a manner that is incompatible with human rights standards.”

Scottish National Party lawmaker Joanna Cherry, who chairs the committee, said the bill “risks untold damage to the U.K.’s reputation as a proponent of human rights.”

“This bill is designed to remove vital safeguards against persecution and human rights abuses, including the fundamental right to access a court,” she said. “Hostility to human rights is at its heart and no amendments can salvage it.”

The Home Office said the Rwanda plan is a “bold and innovative” solution to a “major global challenge.”

“Rwanda is clearly a safe country that cares deeply about supporting refugees,” it said in a statement. “It hosts more than 135,000 asylum seekers and stands ready to relocate people and help them rebuild their lives.”

Under the policy, asylum-seekers who reach the U.K. in small boats across the English Channel would have their claims processed in Rwanda, and stay there permanently. The plan is key to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats” bringing unauthorized migrants to the U.K. Sunak argues that deporting unauthorized asylum-seekers will deter people from making risky journeys and break the business model of people-smuggling gangs.

Human rights groups call the plan inhumane and unworkable, and no one has yet been sent to Rwanda.

In response to the Supreme Court ruling, Britain and Rwanda signed a treaty pledging to strengthen protections for migrants. Sunak’s Conservative government argues the treaty allows it to pass a law declaring Rwanda a safe destination.

The bill was approved by the House of Commons last month, though only after 60 members of Sunak’s governing Conservatives rebelled in an effort to make the legislation tougher.

It is now being scrutinized by the Lords, many of whom want to defeat or water down the bill. Unlike the Commons, the governing Conservatives do not hold a majority of seats in the Lords.

The bill will face multiple attempts to amend it and a protracted back-and-forth between the Lords and the elected House of Commons that could foil Sunak’s aim of getting the first flight to Rwanda off the ground this spring. Ultimately, though the upper house can delay and amend legislation but can’t overrule the elected Commons.

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