London:

The UK prepared on Tuesday to begin detaining migrants for deportation in Rwanda after the controversial plan was approved by parliament, sparking outrage from the UN and rights groups.

The new law – a key Conservative government policy aimed at curbing irregular cross-Channel migration from northern France – cleared the marathon’s final hurdle on Monday after a late-night parliamentary wrangle.

Hours later French police said at least five migrants, including a child, had died overnight while trying to cross a busy shipping lane in a small boat.

Under the UK scheme, undocumented asylum seekers arriving in Britain would be sent to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be examined and, if approved, they would be allowed to stay in Rwanda.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says deportations are expected to begin in 10-12 weeks, with migrants expected to be detained and held as early as this week for the first flight.

Rwanda said it was “delighted” to see the bill passed and looked forward to “welcoming those who have relocated to Rwanda”.

But the heads of UN agencies for refugees and human rights warned that it threatened the rule of law and set “a dangerous precedent globally”.

They urged the UK to “take practical steps to address the irregular flow of refugees and migrants based on international cooperation and respect for international human rights law”.

The Council of Europe also called for the repeal of the new law, saying it raised “major issues about the human rights of asylum seekers and the rule of law in general”.

‘they prevent’

Sunac said the “landmark law” would stop record numbers of migrants crossing the Channel from northern France and disrupt the people-smuggling gangs behind them.

“Passing this law will allow us to do that and make it clear that if you come here illegally, you can’t stay,” he added.

“Our focus now is on getting flights off the ground, and I am clear that nothing will stand in our way of doing that and saving lives.”

The law, which would force judges to treat the East African nation as a protected third country, now goes to head of state King Charles III for royal assent. He has criticized the plan as “terrible”.

It also gives decision-makers on asylum applications the power to ignore sections of international and domestic human rights law to get around a UK Supreme Court ruling that said it was illegal to send migrants on a one-way ticket to Kigali.

But the government faced a parliamentary battle to do so, with the upper chamber House of Lords, which scrutinizes bills, often sending proposed legislation back to the lower House of Commons with amendments.

Colleagues, who criticized the bill as insufficient, specifically wanted a requirement that Rwanda could not be considered safe until an independent monitoring body said so.

MPs in the elected Commons, where the Tories have a majority, rejected each amendment and asked the Lords to reconsider in a back-and-forth process known as “parliamentary ping pong”.

The unelected upper house, where neither party has an overall majority, dug in their heels but eventually agreed to no further amendments, allowing the bill to pass.

Expensive

Sunak’s government, facing what opinion polls say will be defeated in a general election later this year, is under increasing pressure to cut record “small boat” arrivals, especially after promising a tougher approach to immigration after the UK leaves the European Union. Sangh.

The Rwanda plan was first proposed in 2022, but has since been dogged by legal challenges and two years on, no migrants have been deported.

The National Audit Office, a public spending watchdog, estimated that it would cost the UK £540 million ($665 million) to deport the first 300 migrants — about £2 million per person.

Charities have said the scheme is inefficient and, given the small numbers involved, will do little to reduce the backlog of asylum claims.

Rwanda – a small nation of 13 million people – claims to be one of the most stable countries in Africa. But rights groups accuse veteran President Paul Kagame of ruling in a climate of fear, stifling dissent and free speech.

Sunak’s plan could still be blocked by legal challenges, while UN rights experts have suggested that airlines and aviation regulators could be violating internationally protected human rights laws if they participate in the deportations.

(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)