The UK says a new treaty will send migrants to Rwanda “within days” of being ready

London: On Thursday, the British government announced that a new pact to transfer refugees to Rwanda would be ready for approval “within days” following a court ruling that a contentious prior agreement was illegal. The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the current agreement between the two countries should not be carried out, and the new treaty would then need to be approved by the UK parliament, a process that would take at least three weeks.

For Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is under pressure to lower undocumented immigration to Britain, it was a significant setback. Sunak pledged right away to see through the contentious idea by negotiating a new treaty with Kigali.

The UK’s highest court, a five-judge panel, unanimously agreed with a previous Court of Appeal ruling that Britain’s international duties could not be reconciled with the policy of deporting refugees and asylum seekers to Rwanda. The justices concurred that it was not a secure third nation and that there were “substantial grounds” to fear that it might send refugees back to regions where they might be persecuted.

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In an effort to put an end to the “merry-go-round” of legal disputes, Sunak has declared his intention to present “emergency legislation” to the parliament that would declare Rwanda a safe nation. Interior Minister James Cleverly told Sky News on Thursday that “it is ready pretty much now to turn into a treaty that can be done within days — not weeks or months.”

In an attempt to allay legal worries, he said the legally binding agreement would specify that Kigali cannot repatriate migrants transported from Britain to other nations that might be considered dangerous. “We are addressing the issues that the judges have indicated we must address to restart these flights,” Cleverly stated in a separate interview with Times Radio.

“Cease the boats.”

According to the Migration and Economic Development Partnership, which was established in April of last year, anyone who has travelled to Britain on boats and concealed in lorries on what London refers to as “dangerous or illegal journeys” will be sent to Rwanda.

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When a last-minute ECHR injunction stopped any deportations in June 2022, the first deportees were on a plane to depart for the African nation, which sparked legal difficulties. The government maintains that the program is essential to preventing “illegal” immigration from crossing the Channel from France on inflatable boats; this is a contentious issue that will be heavily debated during the upcoming general election. Although fewer than the over 46,000 who crossed in 2022, more than 27,000 people have undertaken the dangerous trek this year, falling well short of Sunak’s promise to “stop the boats”.

The finding by the Supreme Court has shown divisions within the ruling Conservative party regarding the matter, and it is expected to incite right-wingers to campaign for the country’s exit from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) once more. On Wednesday, Sunak declared that “I am prepared to do what is necessary to get the flights off” in the event that the court “chooses to intervene against the express wishes of parliament.”

However, Cleverly made it clear in his interviews that Britain’s “preferred option” was to stay in the ECHR. “We don’t think we’re going to need to (leave),” he stated.