UK tries new Rwanda treaty to get controversial asylum flights off the ground

LONDON — British Home Secretary James Cleverly landed in Kigali Tuesday morning to sign a new treaty with the Rwandan government which he hopes will finally see flights deporting asylum seekers to the east African nation take off.

It’s the first and most eye-catching development in the government’s two-part plan to get the controversial Rwanda scheme back on track, after it was thrown out by the Supreme Court last month. It comes amid mounting pressure from Conservative MPs to reduce U.K. asylum numbers.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government wants to deport people who make “dangerous, unnecessary and illegal journeys” to Rwanda, with their asylum claims processed and decided on by Rwandan authorities. Successful applicants would be settled in Rwanda, not the U.K.

Britain has already struck a multi-million pound deal with Rwanda to make that happen. But no flights have yet taken off and the policy has been mired in legal challenge. The Supreme Court last month dealt the latest blow, declaring the plan unlawful and raising concern that those deported from the U.K. to Rwanda risked being sent on to unsafe third countries.

Cleverly was due to meet his Rwanda counterpart Vincent Biruta for a signing ceremony Tuesday morning. The new treaty updates the existing Migration and Economic Development Partnership between the two countries, and is designed to address concerns raised by the Supreme Court, including assurances Rwanda will not remove arrivals to their home country. 

The new treaty will see British officials stationed in Kigali to help process claims and a formal role for U.K. lawyers in Rwandan courts, the Times reported. The two governments will produce an “evidence pack” to rebut elements of the court judgment. And a joint committee will be established to keep the system under review.

In the second part of the plan, emergency legislation will be introduced in the British parliament later this week declaring Rwanda a safe country for migrants sent there.

Tory MPs have been increasingly tetchy about the delays in outlining the government’s response to the Supreme Court, and have trained their fire on Cleverly, seen as less hard-line on immigration compared to his predecessor Suella Braverman. 

But legal experts, including some Home Office officials, are doubtful that the scheme can be revived while remaining within international law.

With the treaty signed, the next step will be to introduce legislation setting out how it proves Rwanda is safe. Sunak is  wrestling with how strong to make this element.

Polls consistently show that U.K. voters are concerned about record levels of migration. A new More in Common poll shared with POLITICO’s London Playbook shows immigration levels and crossings of the English Channel by undocumented migrants are among the top five issues for the public. Two fifths of 2019 Conservative voters say immigration is the top problem facing the U.K.