313 votes in favor, 269 votes against… A related vote is scheduled for next month
The British House of Commons passed a bill related to the ‘Rwanda policy’. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunnack said that he had received temporary relief through this passage.
According to foreign media reports such as the Guardian and BBC, on the 12th (local time), the House of Representatives passed a bill related to Rwanda’s policy to transport illegal immigrants to Rwanda, Africa, to be screened for asylum, with 313 votes in favor. There were 269 negative votes, 44 votes behind.
A ‘rebellion’ occurred in the Conservative Party, to which Prime Minister Sunnack belongs, with about 20 lawmakers abstaining on the bill. However, no Conservative members voted against it.
As the government could not guarantee passage of the bill, British Minister of Energy Security and Carbon Neutrality Graham Stewart attended the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and returned to the UK.
After the bill was passed in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Sunnack said on social media, “British people, not criminal gangs or foreign courts, should decide who comes to this country. “That is what this bill delivers,” he said, adding, “We will now work to create laws to secure and obtain flights to Rwanda and stop ships.”
Prime Minister Sunnack, who has overcome one political juncture, has been given the task of persuading lawmakers to overcome another wave coming next month.
Although this threshold has been passed, Rwanda’s policy will undergo an additional vote next month. The centrist lawmaker indicated that if there were no amendments or supplements to the bill, which has been criticized as violating international law, he would ultimately vote against the bill and reject it.
On the 15th of last month, the British Supreme Court ruled that Rwanda’s bill was illegal, saying it violated human rights provisions under domestic law.
The Supreme Court said, “There is a very high risk that asylum seekers sent to Rwanda will be treated poorly,” and pointed out that asylum seekers sent to Rwanda may be sent back to their home countries where they fled from persecution and economic hardship.
Meanwhile, on the same day, an asylum seeker died on the barge ‘BB Stockholm’. The exact cause of death is being investigated, but the investigation is focusing on extreme choices.
The barge is a temporary residence facility created by the British government to allow asylum seekers to stay instead of setting foot on British soil, saying it would reduce the cost of accommodating the increasing number of immigrants.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.