The following press release has been issued this afternoon by Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, and I think it worth sharing as indication of international reaction to what the UK is proposing with regard to the treatment of those legitimately claiming the right to asylum in the UK:
Strasbourg, 14 April 2022 - “Today's announcement by the UK government of its intention to offshore asylum processing to Rwanda sends a worrying signal”, said Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović. “Not only does such externalisation raise questions about the protection of the human rights of the people involved. It also indicates that the UK intends to shift the responsibility for what is in fact a very small proportion of people seeking protection worldwide from its territory to that of another country. Such a shift in responsibility runs the risk of seriously undermining the global system of international protection.”
While the government emphasises the importance of safe and legal routes in general, the announced plans do not address the lack of such possibilities for people currently in France, even those who have legitimate claims to move to the UK, for instance on the basis of family links. Expanding such safe and legal routes and putting human rights at the heart of the approach is crucial to addressing the problem of dangerous sea crossings of the Channel and to removing the conditions in which the smuggling of people can flourish.
I call on parliamentarians, in the context of their further examination of the Nationality and Borders Bill, to ensure that no downgrading of the human rights safeguards and protections in the UK's asylum system takes place. They should in particular reject proposals that enable offshoring and that make distinctions in the level of protection or the procedures applied on the basis of the manner in which people arrive in the UK.
More than ever, all Council of Europe member states should stand firm in their commitment to upholding the human rights of people seeking protection. From this perspective, I will continue my engagement with the UK government on this important matter.”
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One of the most worrying aspects is the political calculation. They calculate that frothing racists who want asylum seekers interned in concentration camps in Africa are a more worthwhile political demographic than reasonable people who believe in the rule of law and the value of human rights.
Is that where Tory backbenchers and Tory party members are now? Well to the right of anything Ukip ever stood for?
That’s actually a good point, Simon, and good question.
I suspect that many of us here concluded a while ago that the Conservatives had merged with and morphed into UKIP. They increasingly look like the BNP, though with their treatment of Ukrainian refugees, they seem to treat white people almost as badly as brown.
Reflecting on Johnson’s distasteful suggestion that somehow how the UK had something in common with Ukraine in its fight with Russia. He was half right but the parallel is with Putin rather Zelensky. Nationalism, xenophobia, populism, a distain for the law, undermining democracy and gerrymandering, lying as the norm, corruption and rewarding his mates, surrounding himself with sycophants, ruthlessly eliminating all those who disagree, challenging critical media.
Its a worrying similarity
100%
Johnson has learned from demagogues around the world. The Rwanda Project has echoes of Trump’s border wall and Putin’s extreme nationalism. It is highly unlikely the project will ever come into being. That is not the point though. Johnson has learned how easily the press can be manipulated. He knows that condemnations will ring out loud. He knows the gutter press will join forces with him to frame the condemnations as a woke elite out of touch with the people. It is a fragrantly racist stunt to begin yet another culture war. We should be very worried. As many have commented, Johnson is almost certainly a psychopath. The tendency is for psychopathy to accumulate at the top. He is not the only one. So we have a very dangerous situation. The threat to our democracy cannot be overstated. If the opposition are to resist the inevitable slide into authoritarianism, they must act now, together, with one voice. I see little evidence of this happening.
The immigration angle is the only BREXIT card that the Government can now play.
All the other promises have come to nought. Time has reified that.
Unfortunately, the immigration angle will be sold as worth it in terms of the economic and other damage it has caused.
And some will fall for it.
Thats about it. The economic damage is now undeniable as other country’s trade recovers from Covid and the UK does not. Its not just about big ‘multinationals’ but 100,000s of SMEs who bought and sold with Europe and whose business has been stuffed. They are slowly learning that these are barriers erected by their own government.
With Russia’s war on Ukraine, distancing the UK from Europe is looking extremely foolish however much Johnson tries to strut.
So yes – blowing the anti immigrant dog whistle is all they have left.
This offshore processing idea has probably come to the Tories by way of former Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott who has been touting himself on the UK conservative speaker circuit for a few years and touting the offshore processing idea as well.
Australia’s conservative Coalition governments have been largely responsible for the offshore detention of refugees that arrive by boat and they’ve been doing that (on and off) since 2001 using Nauru and Papua new Guinea for offshore facilities.
The ostensible excuse for this is that it “shuts down the people smuggling trade”. The real reason is that it creates a deterrent for refugees and it appeals to a certain type of voter in marginal electorates – the type of anti-immigrant racist that is too dumb to know that refugees normally account for no more than 5 per cent of immigrants in Australia.
As for Johnson and the Tories, their stocks have been very low for quite some time now and I suspect that they are looking for a contrived controversial issue that will serve as a distraction for them. But Rwanda, of all places! What the ….?
https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/07/15/australia-8-years-abusive-offshore-asylum-processing
Apologies to anyone already familiar with the Israeli “experiment” with Rwanda & Uganda and African refugees. I claim no expertise whatever in this area. It was simply a site near the top of a search engine list.
https://www.ardc-israel.org/refugees-in-israel
Martin’s comment above seems accurate. Especially with the notion that Johnson doesn’t want or need or care if this “project” works. He’s able to pose as coming up with a practical plan. If the Courts, or “the “Left, or “Liberals” or Non-Governmental Organisations object or get in the way then all the better for him. Johnson’s pose as a cutter-of-red-tape, a populist, a non-respecter of rules and conventions ; in sum, a faux-rebel insurgent, anti-hero figure is strengthened.
But it’s not just Johnson and his psychology which is scary. All the current crop of right-wing autocrat leaders have powerful authoritarian cronies backing them.
In 2019, the Turkish writer and journalist Ece Temelkuran pointed out parallels between Donald Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In her book “How to Lose a Country: The 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship”, Temelkuran urged Americans (and us) to learn lessons from Turkey. For example, to stop joking and take the right wing threat very seriously.
As we now know to our cost, Boris Johnson is far far more dangerous than a spluttering clown stuck on a zip wire and waving two Union Jack flags.