Boris Johnson’s conservative government stands firm, despite criticism from human rights defenders, the United Nations, the Anglican Church and even the British royal family: the first deportation in Rwanda of illegally arrived migrants at UK Uni is to take place this Tuesday evening needed. According to the British government, the project aims to discourage illegal crossings of the Channel, which have been on the rise despite repeated promises since Brexit. 20 minutes Takes stock of this highly controversial measure as the risks of the first flight are virtually nil.

What is happening in the UK today?

Unless canceled at the last minute, the British government is preparing to deport the first migrants who arrived in the United Kingdom illegally to Rwanda on Tuesday. A specially chartered flight with illegal immigrants on board takes off from London in the evening and lands in Kigali the next morning.

But after various personal appeals, the first flight runs the risk of being nearly empty, with only seven migrants on board. According to the Care4Calais Association, 24 of the 31 people initially planned had their tickets for Rwanda canceled. Initially the reasons for the holiday were an Iranian, an Iraqi, an Albanian and a Syrian. New appeals are scheduled for today, Tuesday.

Why did London introduce this remedy and how does it work?

Illegal Channel crossings are a bane of the Conservative British government and regularly cause tensions with France, from where many migrants wish to move to England. Since the beginning of the year, more than 10,000 migrants have illegally crossed the English Channel to reach British shores on small boats. Growth compared to previous years, already record. The Johnson government intends to prevent illegal crossings of the Channel by sending migrants into the United Kingdom illegally arriving in Rwanda, more than 6,000 km from London.

“Criminal groups that endanger the lives of people in the channel must understand that their economic model will collapse under this government”, justified Boris Johnson on LBC radio. “While we know that efforts will be made to sabotage the process and delay the evictions, I will not be deterred and remain fully committed to implementing the expectation of the British public,” the minister said. British Interior Minister Priti Patel, as soon as this highly controversial plan was announced in mid-April. Most recently, he lauded a “new step” towards implementing the partnership with Rwanda as part of the government’s strategy to “reform the broken asylum system and break the bad business model of traffickers”. is in.

Under its agreement with Kigali, London will initially finance the system for 120 million pounds (140 million euros). For its part, the government of Rwanda has specified that it will offer migrants the possibility to “settle permanently”.

Is this project legal?

This controversial project has been validated by British justice. The latter rejected at first, then on appeal, last-minute appeals made by unions, notably Care4Calais and Detention Action, to try to prevent departures. The High Court in London on Monday also dismissed another appeal brought by refugee aid union Asylum Aid. With a detailed examination of the legality of the measure scheduled for July before the High Court, the associations do not intend to and do not intend to pursue their challenge in court.

“This unethical policy puts the United Kingdom to shame”, a letter published by the newspaper on Tuesday speculated. many times, spiritual leader of the Anglican Church and 23 bishops. Critics dismissed by Minister Liz Truss: “Our policy is completely legal. It is completely ethical. Rwanda is a safe country and immoral people are traffickers in this matter.”

The United Nations is also against the measure, and the human rights organization HRW believes that London “wants to completely shift its responsibilities for asylum to another country” by going against the Convention from Geneva. The civil service union PCS, whose members include customs officers who are supposed to enforce the deportation, has also challenged the plan in court.

According to TimesPrince Charles himself would have judged the project “horrendous” in private, while he would have to attend a Commonwealth meeting in Rwanda from June 20. In Kigali, the prince and Boris Johnson are due to meet with President Paul Kagame, who has ruled Rwanda since the end of the 1994 genocide that claimed 800,000 lives according to the United Nations. His government is regularly accused by NGOs of suppressing freedom of expression, criticism and political opposition.