Britain
UK Government Persists in Passing Inhumane Racist Law to Expel Migrants and Refugees
Time and time again the government of the United Kingdom has been condemned for trying to expel migrants and refugees seeking asylum in Britain. Its racism and arrogance reveals the essence of British empire-building values promoted in the mid-nineteenth century of "white man's burden" whereby it can do whatever it wishes in its colonies and possessions according to what it considers to be its "god given right." In this case, it has persisted in using its position of privilege and power to manipulate the process of passing law until it can claim a majority as if this is what is required to give what it is doing legitimacy and credibility.
Against all humanitarian principles and the principles underlying refugee laws and conventions passed by the United Nations since World War II, the UK government thinks it has succeeded in getting the green light to expel people from the British mainland who have come to its shores. These are people who have been turned into migrants and refugees by Britain's own policies of exploitation and wars of destruction, and genocide against tribal peoples in Asia and Africa. On April 22, the British parliament passed the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act which it intends to use to deport refugees deemed "illegal" because they left a "safe third country" such as France to seek asylum in Britain. This is similar to what Canada is doing when it refuses refugee claimants who have arrived through the U.S. because the latter is deemed a "safe country." But even more heinous and odious, the UK has managed to find a willing partner in the long-suffering country called Rwanda – a country in central Africa more than 6,500 kilometres from Britain.
This legislation is the response of the Rishi Sunak government to bypass the November 2023 ruling of the UK Supreme Court. That ruling found that his government's "Rwanda Policy" of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful because Rwanda is not a safe country for asylum seekers to be sent to. Note that many of the asylum seekers being deported are not from Rwanda at all. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom – which is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – found that there is a substantial risk of the expelled asylum seekers being returned to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened. In response to the Supreme Court decision, Sunak's government negotiated a treaty with Rwanda which it claims addresses the Court's concerns. It then crafted legislation that designates Rwanda as a safe country and furthermore denies asylum seekers the right to return to the UK.
According to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak -- problem solved.
This law has been denounced by human rights activists in Britain who point out that it is illegal, racist and criminalizes refugees. They say that they will do everything in their power to stop any deportation plane leaving for Rwanda.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, stated, "The new legislation marks a further step away from the UK's long tradition of providing refuge to those in need, in breach of the Refugee Convention. " Grandi pointed out, "Protecting refugees requires all countries -- not just those neighbouring crisis zones -- to uphold their obligations."
To divert attention from the crisis in which the so-called liberal democratic institutions in the UK are mired and the need to remove from power those who serve narrow private interests, monopoly media pretend that Britain is a victim of too many people wishing to come to its shores because it is such a great country. In this vein, they claim that thousands of refugees from around the world travel to northern France each year in hopes of crossing the Channel to be reunited with friends or family or because they speak English or feel that they would integrate more easily into British society. Meanwhile, Britain receives fewer asylum seekers than many European nations, including France, Germany and Italy, because it is far from their point of origin and is, on top of this, an island.
The fact remains that the U.S. and its Anglo-American allies such as the UK, Canada and others, are trying to get rid of the refugee convention adopted by the UN after World War II and to dispose of people like they are trash. They are racist and anti-human to the core and nothing they can do or say will redeem the crimes against humanity they are carrying out in the name of high ideals.
On a recent trip to Poland, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that the aim of the Safety of Rwanda Act is to curb illegal criminal gangs who exploit and endanger asylum seekers. So long as he leaves himself and his gang of miserable persons with power and privilege out of who comprises that category, his statement will ring false. Whatever criminal gangs exist are thanks to the British state that rules on the basis of keeping such criminal gangs, his own included, in place. For good measure, Sunak said that "for matters of compassion more than anything else, we must actually break this business model and end the unfairness of people coming to our country illegally."
First the likes of the U.S., Canada and Britain concoct the third safe country "rule" and then declare refugees and asylum seekers "illegal." This is what those British colonials who wanted to Keep Canada White did in 1914 when they declared British subjects from India illegal if they did not come via direct passage. When they charted the SS Komagata Maru to bring them via direct passage, the colonial authorities would not permit them to disembark in Vancouver nor would they permit the ship to be provisioned with water or food. The ship was finally forced to return with more tragedies befalling those who made the trip.[1]
No matter what Sunak says, his government's legislation violates British law, international humanitarian law and the UN Refugee Convention. It provides credible evidence that the British state itself is engaged in large-scale illegal human trafficking.
The UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership, also known as the Rwanda Asylum Plan was first proposed by former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In 2022, Johnson reached an agreement with Rwanda to accept asylum seekers from Britain in exchange for more than 100 million pounds sterling and other aid money with more to come. It was thanks to the broad opposition in Britain and the actions of migrant advocates and legal challenges that the deportations were stopped in 2022.
When the first
group of deportees were set to depart for
Rwanda in June 2022, two organizations, Detention Actions and
Care4Calais, joined with the Public and Commercial Services
Union and
four asylum seekers to challenge the plan and request a
last-minute
injunction to stop the first flight from
taking off. The British High Court refused the injunction but
the
European Court of Human Rights intervened on the grounds that
"the plan
carried real risk of irreparable harm" and the flight was
cancelled.
The Sunak Conservative government has pushed forward despite widespread opposition. Sunak states that the first plane of deportees to Rwanda will take off in weeks, but human rights organizations and legal experts plan to continue challenging the government through the courts and politically to stop the deportations.
Britain can never be forgiven for the crimes it is committing against the asylum seekers and refugees today. It built its wealth and power on the Atlantic Slave Trade, growing rich on the bodies of Africans and causing irreparable damage as the master of colonies in Africa. To now use Rwanda as a dumping ground for human beings it does not want is unconscionable and shows that what are called British values and civilization are as rotten today as they were in colonial times. Britain, through its participation in NATO and wars against countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, is one of the big powers responsible for the refugee crisis, for millions of people forced to take desperate measures to find refuge in countries where they hope to start new lives.
The demand of the peoples of the world is for Britain to make amends for its historic crimes. Far from it, the deeper the crisis of its liberal democratic institutions, the more the government clutches at straws to remain in power, and the more racist, criminal and genocidal it shows itself to be.
Sunak will rue the day that he decided to press forward with his plan to "stop the boats." The people who make up the UK have shown they will not put up with the racist immigration and refugee policies of the British state. Besides demanding the rights of all refugee claimants be respected, the expectation is that the Sunak government will be defeated in the general election to be held in Britain on July 4.
This article was published in
Volume 54
Number 35 - May 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS54358.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca