In the United Kingdom, after a first vote in December, the bill to recognize Rwanda as a safe country is being discussed again in the House of Commons this Tuesday January 16 and Wednesday January 17. Since the signing of the controversial agreement between London and Kigali, for an initial amount of more than 160 million euros, no asylum seeker has yet been sent to Rwanda by the British government. But despite the legal blockages, in Kigali, the Hope Hostel, one of the establishments contracted to accommodate migrants, is standing ready. But for the moment, no migrants.
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This is one of the British government’s flagship policies: sending its asylum seekers to Rwanda, where their request will be processed. However, the Supreme Court blocked the project, considering that Rwanda is not a safe country. So, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak proposed a law declaring Rwanda safe, to circumvent the judgment. This “Rwanda law” therefore begins its second examination by Parliament this Tuesday, reports our correspondent in London, Émeline Vin.
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The vote seems acquired for the government, which had feared a defeat at first reading in December. The issue for the next two days will be the amendments selected by the Vice-President of the House of Commons.
Beyond the traditional additions from the oppositions, certain deputies to the right of the conservative majority want to toughen the text. For them, the law does not go far enough in allowing courts to ignore certain aspects of human rights conventions. They want to be able to override the injunctions of the European Court of Human Rights, and limit the possible recourses for asylum seekers likely to be deported to Rwanda.
The amendments should not be validated: the opposition rejects them, as well as the left wing of the Conservatives, which already finds the text too harsh. However, supporters of a tough approach have warned the government that they would not support an unamended version. Without inflicting a defeat on the executive, this would undermine its authority and credibility.
In Kigali, a desperately empty hotel
In the meantime, in Kigali, the facilities, prayer rooms, computers and even sports grounds, set up in the Hope Hostel, in the middle of the Kagugu district, for the reception of asylum seekers have not yet been used. . Four residential floors but without occupants since May 2022, noted our correspondent on site Lucie Mouillaud. “ We have 50 rooms, double rooms, to be ready to accommodate up to 100 residents. And as you can see, in different areas we use different languages like English and Arabic “, explains manager Bakina Ismael.
Rooms reserved by the authorities for more than a year and a half, previously occupied by around twenty orphans of the Tutsi genocide who had to leave the premises. The establishment was to accommodate passengers of the first migrant flight scheduled for June 2022, canceled at the last moment by a decision of the European Court of Human Rights.
“ We’re still here, from the start of the contract until today, until they get here. All services are ready, we are just waiting for them. All the employees are there, in their position, to wait for the asylum seekers “, says Bakina Ismael.