Europe's highest rights body on Tuesday called on Britain to scrap a controversial plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, after the measure cleared parliament.
"The United Kingdom government should refrain from removing people under the Rwanda policy and reverse the Bill's effective infringement of judicial independence," the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O'Flaherty, said in a statement.
Britain's parliament on Monday passed a plan under which asylum seekers would be deported to Rwanda to await a decision on their applications.
O'Flaherty said the legislation "raises major issues about the human rights of asylum seekers and the rule of law more generally."
Legal challenges
"I am concerned that the Rwanda Bill enables the implementation of a policy of removing people to Rwanda without any prior assessment of their asylum claims by the UK authorities in the majority of cases," he said.
O'Flaherty also warned that the bill significantly prevents UK courts from fully and independently scrutinising "the issues brought before them".
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.
On Tuesday, Rwanda said it was "pleased" by the UK parliament's passage of the Bill, according to the government's spokeswoman.
'Rwanda pleased'
"We are pleased that the Bill has been passed by the UK Parliament," Yolande Makolo said in a statement, adding that the government in Kigali was looking forward "to welcoming those relocated to Rwanda."
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government has been under mounting pressure to cut record numbers of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel from northern France in small boats, particularly following a promise of a tougher approach to immigration after the UK left the European Union.
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