The visit comes a day after the British Parliament passed the controversial Rwandan security law, which will lead to the deportation of some illegal immigrants to the central African country, legislation that has been criticized by lawyers and international human rights groups.
British Home Secretary James Cleverly on Tuesday praised the migration deportation agreement between Britain and Rwanda, describing it as a new agreement A “new and innovative” solution. An old and growing problem. But he said he takes seriously the criticism from the United Nations refugee agency, which it considers a violation of international law.
The politician visited Italy, ground zero in Europe's immigration debate, hours after the UK Parliament approved legislation allowing the government to deport some people who hail from Rwanda. Illegal entry To Great Britain.
The agreement in which Britain pays Rwanda to process migrantsIt aims to discourage people from crossing the English Channel from France. It is similar in some fundamental respects to Italy's controversial agreement to outsource the processing of asylum seekers to Italian-run centers in Albania.
Human rights groups said both agreements, drafted by conservative governments amid a crisis Anti-immigrant sentiment among votersThey violate migrants' rights under international refugee conventions.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said on Tuesday that the agreement between the United Kingdom and Rwanda “does not comply with international refugee law.” refugeesBecause it uses an asylum model “that undermines global solidarity and the established international refugee protection regime.” The necessary response to a problem Which went beyond the international institutional way of treating migrants. He said that Britain would not tolerate human smugglers who determine who reaches British territory.
“Mass migration has changed and I think it requires us to constantly innovate,” he said during a meeting at the Institute of International Affairs, a Rome-based think tank. He also stated that he takes the matter seriously Criticisms of the Commission Cleverly continued and explained that Britain is a law-abiding country.
Nearly 160,000 people arrived illegally in Lampedusa last year
Cleverly visited the Italian Coast Guard headquarters on Tuesday and will visit the Sicilian island of Lampedusa on Wednesday, where they arrived. Tens of thousands of immigrants After crossing the Mediterranean Sea on ships coming from North Africa. Lampedusa is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland and is usually the preferred destination for migrants, who numbered 157,652 new arrivals to Italy last year.
The arrival numbers in Italy so far this year are actually quite low, most likely thanks to… An agreement with Tunisia to stop flights With support from the Italian European Union. As of Tuesday, 16,090 migrants had arrived by sea in Italy so far this year, compared to 36,324 in the same period last year. In reality, Spain has overtaken Italy so far this year in terms of arrivals Of migrants by sea, with 16,621 people arriving this year as of April 15, the latest available date.
in BritainThe numbers pale in comparison to those in the southern Mediterranean, even during peak periods: in 2022, the number of people arriving in Britain via the Channel reached 45,774, although last year the figure fell to 29,437.
Additional resources • Enrique Barueco (voice-over)
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