British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak left open the possibility of changing British legislation or “reviewing” international law commitments to combat illegal immigration following a contrary court decision.
The British Supreme Court declared illegal this Wednesday the plan to deport illegal immigrants to Rwanda, considering that the African country is not a safe destination.
However, Sunak says the principle of sending illegal immigrants to a safe third country to process asylum claims has not been rejected.
“The Government has already been working in advance on a new treaty with Rwanda, which we will finalize in the light of today’s ruling, to respond to the obstacles that have been raised,” he revealed this Wednesday in the House of Commons, during the weekly debate with deputies.
However, he added, “if it becomes clear that our domestic legal frameworks or international conventions continue to frustrate plans, I am willing to amend our legislation and review those international relations.”
Several Conservative Party MPs, including former Chancellor of the Exchequer Jacob Rees-Mogg and former Housing Minister Simon Clarke, urged Sunak on Wednesday to introduce legislation that would allow the UK to circumvent or ignore the European Convention on Human Rights.
On Tuesday, in a letter to the Prime Minister the day after his sacking, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman claimed that Sunak had promised her to legislate to ignore the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights. reduce immigration.
MP Braverman said the agreement included “firm guarantees” on reducing legal migration, inserting measures to ignore the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in legislation to stop small boats crossing.
Anticipating a contrary ruling from the High Court, he accused Sunak of having “wasted a year” to “just get back to square one”.
But in a statement in Parliament, his successor, James Cleverly, told MPs that the Government “anticipated this decision as a possible outcome and, over the past few months, we have been working on a plan”.
“We have been working with Rwanda to build capacity and amend agreements with that country to make clear that people sent to Rwanda cannot be sent to any country other than the UK. Our intention is to transform our agreement into a treaty as soon as possible . possible.”
According to the current Minister of the Interior, this measure “will make it absolutely clear to our courts and [o Tribunal Europeu dos Direitos Humanos em] Strasbourg, that the risks presented by the court today have been addressed, will be consistent with international law and ensure that Parliament can examine it.”
Source: TSF
