英、難民のルワンダ移送実現へ　法案が議会通過

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】英議会で２２日、難民申請者をアフリカのルワンダに移送するための法案をめぐる審議が長時間行われ、深夜になって通過した。（写真は英国のリシ・スナク首相）
　上院は法案の修正を求めたが、下院は繰り返し拒否。午前０時前に上院が譲歩した結果、法案は議会を通過した。国王の裁可を経て、法として成立する運び。
　英仏海峡を渡り入国する難民が記録的な数に上っているのを受け、リシ・スナク政権は対応を迫られている。首相は、ルワンダへの移送が難民の渡英抑止になるとみている。
　ルワンダへの移送構想は２０２２年に初めて打ち出されたが、国連機関や難民支援団体の批判を浴びた。また、撤回を求める訴訟も何件か起こされた。
　同年には最初の難民を乗せた飛行機が出発する予定だったが、欧州人権裁判所が直前に差し止める判断を下し、難民は飛行機から降ろされた。以来、移送は実現していない。
　会計検査院は、難民３００人を移送するのに必要な費用は５億４０００万ポンド（約１０００億円）と試算。一人当たり２００万ポンド近く掛かることになる。
　人口約１３００万人のルワンダは、アフリカで最も安定した国の一つとされる。一方で人権団体は、２０年超に及ぶポール・カガメ政権による強権の下、言論や自由は抑圧されていると指摘する。
　スナク氏はこの日、政府の準備は整っており、１０～１２週間後には最初の移送が行われる予定だと述べた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/04/23-16:25）

Controversial UK government plans for deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda cleared their final hurdle on Monday, after a marathon tussle between the upper and lower chambers of parliament lasting late into the night.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his ruling Conservatives have been seeking to push through legislation that will compel judges to regard the east African nation as a safe third country.
They also want to give decision-makers on asylum applications the power to disregard sections of international and domestic human rights law to get around a UK Supreme Court ruling that sending migrants on a one-way ticket to Kigali was illegal.
But the government faced a parliamentary battle to do so, with the upper chamber House of Lords, which scrutinises bills, repeatedly sending the proposed legislation back to the lower House of Commons with amendments.
Peers, who have criticised the bill as inadequate, notably wanted a requirement that Rwanda could not be treated as safe until an independent monitoring body said so.
They also wanted an exemption for agents, allies and employees of the UK overseas, including Afghans who fought alongside British armed forces, from being removed.
MPs in the Commons, where the Tories have a majority, voted down every amendment and asked the Lords to think again in a back-and-forth process known as parliamentary ping pong.
The unelected upper chamber, where there is no overall majority for any party, dug in their heels.
But shortly before midnight (2300 GMT) they eventually conceded to the will of elected MPs and agreed to make no further amendments, ending the deadlock and ensuring the bill will now receive royal assent to pass into law.
Sunak's government has been under mounting pressure to cut record numbers of asylum seekers crossing the Channel from northern France in small boats, particularly following a promise of a tougher approach to immigration after the UK left the European Union.
- Challenges -
The Rwanda scheme -- criticised by UN human rights experts and groups supporting asylum seekers -- has been beset by legal challenges since it was first proposed in 2022.
That year, the first deportees were pulled off a flight at the last minute after an injunction from the European Court of Human Rights. Two years on, no migrants have been sent.
The National Audit Office, a public spending watchdog, has estimated it will cost the UK £540 million ($665 million) to deport the first 300 migrants -- nearly £2 million per person.
Charities have said the scheme is unworkable and, given the small numbers involved, would do little to cut the backlog of asylum claims.
Other critics say it sets a dangerous precedent of parliament legislating on an issue already deemed illegal by the courts, and will damage the UK's international standing and moral authority.
Rwanda -- a tiny nation of 13 million people -- lays claim to being one of the most stable countries in Africa. But rights groups accuse veteran President Paul Kagame of ruling in a climate of fear, stifling dissent and free speech.
Sunak announced earlier on Monday that the government was ready and had plans in place for the first flights to take off in 10 to 12 weeks, promising a wave of deportations come what may over the summer months.
The prime minister is banking on the flagship stop the boats policy to act as a deterrent and give his beleaguered Tory party an electoral boost as the country prepares to go to the polls later this year.
The Conservatives have consistently trailed the main opposition Labour party in opinion polls and are on course to be dumped out of power after 14 years.
Sunak's plans could still be held up by legal challenges, and UN rights experts have suggested that airlines and aviation regulators could fall foul of internationally protected human rights laws if they take part in deportations.