The European Court of Human Rights recently issued a last-minute order blocking British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to relocate asylum seekers to Rwanda. The court’s decision to move asylum seekers to Rwanda drew mixed reactions. The British government has announced that it will plan another flight to implement the decision.
British Prime Minister and the European Union
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday (June 14) suggested that the United Kingdom could withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights to ensure that Boris Johnson’s Rwanda deportation plan goes ahead smoothly. But later that night, a flight scheduled to take asylum seekers to Rwanda from the UK was cancelled dramatically after the European Court of Human Rights intervened in the final hour to stop the deportation. When asked about the legal hurdles that restrict the transfer of asylum seekers offshore, Johnson did not rule out pulling out of the international convention. “The legal world is very good at picking ways to stop the government from upholding what we think is a sensible law,” Johnson said. “Now, will it be necessary to change some laws to help us as we go along? It may very well be. And all these options are under constant review”.
If the UK has already left the European Union (EU), why is it still obliged to follow the guidelines of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)? Despite Britain’s exit in January 2020, it continues to be a member of the Council of Europe. Established in the wake of World War II in 1949, the Council of Europe (CoE) is an entirely separate entity from the EU. The Council (46 members) is Europe’s chief human rights organization, while the EU (27 members) is an economic and political alliance. The UK joined the EU in 1973, 24 years after becoming a member of the Council. The Council introduced the ECHR in 1953. A 1994 resolution passed by the Council stated that all member states must “respect their obligations” under the ECHR and that all new members must ratify the convention within a year of joining.
The UK and the ECHR
As the first country to sign the convention in March 1951, the UK has a long-standing relationship with the ECHR. After the end of World War II, the Congress of Europe was held in The Hague, which was attended by over 750 delegates from across the continent. During his speech to Congress, Winston Churchill said, “In the centre of our movement stands the idea of a Charter of Human Rights, guarded by freedom and sustained by law.” Britain also committed to incorporating the ECHR into Northern Ireland after signing the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998, marking the violent conflict’s end in the 1960s.
The UK played an important role in the creation of the Council of Europe and the subsequent ECHR. UK government enshrined the convention in British law with the Human Rights Act of 1998. The Act, which came into force in October 2000, incorporates the rights of the ECHR into British domestic law and allows the rights guaranteed by the ECHR to be enforced in domestic courts. However, the Human Rights Act has been seen as a constraining liability in recent years. Former Prime Minister David Cameron had pledged to replace the legislation and replace it with a new British bill of rights.
The Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto pledged to “update” the Human Rights Act to ensure a “proper balance between the rights of individuals, our vital national security and effective government”. Critics argue that removing the Human Rights Bill would mean that people who want to raise human rights cases under the ECHR will no longer be allowed to seek redressal in the UK but will have to travel to the court in Strasbourg to be heard. In a document presented to Parliament in December 2021, the UK Ministry of Justice suggested that updates should be introduced to the Human Rights Act “to strengthen the role of the UK Supreme Court”. It also indicated that in light of the “ongoing challenges in deporting foreign national offenders”, provisions in the new Bill of Rights could be included, limiting such claims on human rights grounds.
Boris Johnson’s Rwanda deportation plan
Britain has no plans to leave the European Convention on Human Rights. Still, the Strasbourg court, which enforces it, overstepped its powers in blocking Boris Johnson’s Rwanda deportation plan, deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said on Thursday. The government was thwarted in its attempt to send a handful of migrants on a charter plane more than 4,000 miles to Rwanda on Tuesday after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) stepped in to issue injunctions, cancelling the flight. In April this year, the UK government announced that for a 5-year trial period, it would send some asylum seekers who had illegally crossed the English Channel to Rwanda for refuge instead. This scheme, which would require Britain to pay Rwanda an initial £120 million, would, according to the government, discourage others from crossing the Channel. After a series of appeals by lawyers, the last of which was dismissed by the Supreme Court, a plane carrying seven people was set to take off for Rwanda.
However, just before the flight could take off, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg granted urgent interim relief to an Iraqi asylum seeker on the plane, claiming he faced “a real risk of irreversible harm”, The Guardian reported. The court ruled that he “should not be removed until the expiry of three weeks following the delivery of the final domestic decision in the ongoing judicial review proceedings”. Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was disappointed but would not be “deterred from doing the right thing”. She added: “Our legal team are reviewing every decision made on this flight, and preparation for the next flight begins now,” the Associated Press reported.
Boris Johnson’s Rwanda deportation plan was criticized by his political opponents, human rights organizations, and charities for being inhumane. In a letter published in the Times, the archbishops of Canterbury and York, along with other senior members of the Church of England, condemned the policy, calling it “immoral” and saying it “shames Britain”. Prime Minister Johnson had earlier said that he would not be “deterred or abashed” by critics of the policy.
Conclusion
Britain has no plans to leave the European Convention on Human Rights. Still, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said on Thursday, the Strasbourg court, which enforces it overstepped its powers in blocking the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda. The government was thwarted in its attempt to send a handful of migrants on a charter plane more than 4,000 miles to Rwanda on Tuesday after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) stepped in to issue injunctions, cancelling the flight.
