UN calls on airlines not to be involved in expulsion of migrants from UK to Rwanda

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said this Monday that he has booked commercial charter planes and that flight personnel have already been trained to begin deporting migrants and asylum seekers to Rwanda in 10 or 12 weeks. In response to this plan, representatives of the UN Human Rights Council have set their sights on airlines and aviation regulatory authorities so that they “do not facilitate” the execution of these expulsions.

Although the agreement between the United Kingdom and Rwanda is approved in the vote in the British Parliament, scheduled this Monday; The companies “could be complicit in the violation of internationally protected human rights and court orders,” UN special rapporteurs against human trafficking Siobhán Mullally warn in a joint statement; for the protection of the rights of migrants, Gehad Madi, and against torture, Allice Jill Edwards.

The signatories emphasize that the expulsions of people of any nationality to Rwanda or other countries violate the right “to be free from torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.” This was recognized in November 2023 by the British Supreme Court, which declared these deportations illegal, so “if airlines and aviation authorities implement state decisions that violate human rights, they must be held responsible for their conduct.” they conclude.

“Companies are obliged to respect human rights,” recall the UN experts. Although it is reputational damage that companies fear most. Following the refusal of the Rwandan state airline RwandAir to transport asylum seekers “for fear of damaging its brand”, according to what was published Financial TimesBritish media indicate that the charter flight operator AirTanker, with contracts with the British Ministry of Defense and the Royal Air Force, has held talks with Sunak’s Cabinet to charter the planes to Kigali, 6,600 kilometers from London.

“The signing of an agreement, in itself, does not guarantee that in the short or medium term effective identification, assistance and protection measures will be adopted for victims of trafficking before, during or after the relocation procedure, which respond to legal obligations.” of the State in matters of human trafficking,” the UN agency details. To make them aware of these risks, the UN Human Rights Council has contacted the British Civil Aviation Authority, the European Aviation Safety Agency and the International Civil Aviation Association, among other institutions. Recipients have 60 days, still ongoing, to respond to these communications.

For their part, civil society organizations, such as Freedom from Torture, mobilizations have begun on social networks, a massive sending of messages to those responsible for the airline and protests in front of AirTanker’s headquarters in Carterton, to demand that it “keep its promise” of not “profiting from the pain of migrants,” Lara Hawkins, spokesperson for the NGO. “In 2022, when the first flight that was going to deport immigrants was stopped, it was the first company to respond to us that it would not be involved.” Two years later, faced with the development of a new agreement between the United Kingdom and Rwanda, the entity has once again repeated the strategy of requesting the same commitment in writing, but this time without a response: “They do not confirm that they are not going to participate despite the tremendous public pressure.” The company’s silence makes activists fear that its position has changed. “They have done great humanitarian work, including in Ukraine. We call on you to remember that work and to place yourself on the right side of history.”

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