Britain clashes with the European Court over migrants' rights

2023-05-19 15:54:51, Kosova & Bota CNA

Britain this week called for reform at the European Court of Human Rights after judges there blocked flights carrying asylum seekers from Britain to Rwanda for document processing. There has been a rapid increase in the number of migrants arriving in small boats on British shores - and the government believes the policy of sending them to Rwanda will discourage many people from making the dangerous journey. But as "Voice of America" ??correspondent Henry Ridgwell reports, many analysts say Britain's European allies are not inclined to reform the court.

British authorities have detained nearly seven thousand migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats from France so far this year. The total for 2022 exceeded 45,000. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly vowed to - as he put it - "stop the boats".

Britain signed an agreement with Kigali last year that would host an unspecified number of migrants who would be transported there for processing of asylum documents - with no right of appeal. Under the agreement, Britain has already paid Rwanda $150 million.

"It is an ambitious new approach, but I believe it is in line with our international obligations," said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

But judges at the European Court of Human Rights disagreed with the move. As the first plane was about to leave for Rwanda last June, the court issued what is known as "Rule 39" - the blocking of flights on the grounds that they may violate the Council of Europe's Convention on Human Rights - a signatory to which is also Britain. The Council of Europe is not part of the European Union.

In response, the British government has introduced new legislation which would overturn the decisions of the European courts. The bill is currently being debated in parliament.

At a meeting of the Council of Europe this week, Prime Minister Sunak said he would try to persuade European partners to reform the court itself.

"We want to ensure that the European Court always behaves in a fair, effective and transparent way", said Prime Minister Sunak.

Some analysts say that Europe is not predisposed to negotiate with Britain after the country's exit from the EU.

"I'm not sure they're going to try to reform another European institution to please Mr. Sunak and his hard-line government when it comes to migration," says Camino Mortera-Martinez with the Center for European Reform .

Some members of Mr Sunak's Conservative party want Britain to leave the Council of Europe and its human rights convention. The latest country to leave the organization was Russia, expelled last year after invading Ukraine.

"Faced with the threat 'give us what we want, or we'll leave the European Convention on Human Rights and the Council of Europe', the answer might be 'that would make you like Russia.' I think it would be a mistake for Britain to do this at the moment, especially considering that we have a war in Ukraine" , says the analyst.

Slightly more than a quarter of immigrants who arrived in small boats in 2022 were Albanians. Britain has deported over a thousand of them. The Albanian Prime Minister said last month that Britain was experiencing a 'nervous crisis' regarding migration./ VOA