The Guardian View on the New Rwanda Bill: A Draconian Disgrace

THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: In its determination to put fear of asylum seekers at the centre of the next election, the government is brushing human rights and the rule of law aside

The prime minister holds a press conference in Downing Street’s briefing room. ‘Mr Sunak’s authority is more fragile than ever.’ Photograph: Reuters
The Conservative government’s proposal to remove asylum seekers to Rwanda has always been more a piece of performative cruelty than a practical or strategic policy. It plays to the party and media gallery rather than truly addressing the migration problem. This remains even more true today, following the publication of the government’s draconian and disgraceful safety of Rwanda bill. This reneges on Britain’s human rights laws and brushes the historic role of our country’s courts aside.

The overriding purpose of the policy and the bill is to give voters the impression that the Conservatives have gripped the small boats issue before next year’s general election. Planes taking off for Rwanda make good propaganda. Yet even if the planes were to take off, Rwanda itself has made clear that the numbers removed would only be in the hundreds. The government is fixated on the migration margins, not the mainstream. » | Editorial | Thursday, December 7, 2023

This whole Rwanda scheme is disgraceful and totally unBritish at its very core. This is NOT the way that this country has historically treated its migrants and asylum seekers.

This is scandalous; it is also scandalous that this government is wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ hard-earned money on such hare-brained schemes — and schemes they are! — thought up by half-wits and dim-wits! It is policies like this that bring shame on this nation. How low are we going to sink as a nation? For God’s sake: We Brits are better than this! – © Mark Alexander

The Guardian View on the Rwanda Deal: Tory Asylum Policy Sinks to a New Low

THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: This malign deportation scheme is a distraction from years of broken pledges

Suella Braverman wasn’t sacked from her post as home secretary three weeks ago because of her zeal in promoting the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda – a policy she once described as her “dream”. It was an intemperate attack she made on the police in the Times that led to her dismissal by the prime minister she had defied in making it. But anyone who thought – or hoped – that her replacement by James Cleverly would bring an end to this vicious, wrong-headed policy was mistaken. Rishi Sunak’s government remains wedded to its project of sending asylum seekers from all over the world to central Africa. » | Editorial | Tuesday, December 5, 2023

The Tories have turned into a party in no small part made up of immigrants hell-bent on denying new immigrants the right to settle here. I wonder where these people would have been today had the UK denied their families entry into this country, the very country that gave these people opportunity, the very country to which they are so determined to deny the same opportunities to others? This anti-immigrant fervour is quite unprecedented among immigrants, I feel sure. – © Mark Alexander

Finland Steps Up Border Closings in Dispute With Russia

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The escalation comes as Finland tries to address a rise in the arrivals of migrants and asylum seekers that officials blame on Moscow.

Finnish border guards escorting migrants at the international crossing with Russia near Salla, Finland, on Thursday. | Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva, via Associated Press
Finland is closing all but one of its land border crossings with Russia, escalating a standoff between the two countries over an influx of migrants that Finnish officials blame on Moscow.

Starting on Friday, only the Raja-Jooseppi crossing in northern Lapland will stay open to travelers, while all seven other land crossings will be closed. Last week, Finland closed four of the entry points.

“Russia has sought for years to cause discord, to shake unity in Europe and to weaken the Western alliance and international rules-based order,” the Finnish prime minister, Petteri Orpo, said in a televised address to Parliament on Thursday. “Our national response must be clear and strong.”

He had previously said the situation at the border was deteriorating amid signs that the Russian authorities were helping asylum seekers make their way to the country.

“Finland cannot be influenced,” he said. “Finland cannot be shaken.” » | Johanna Lemola and Emma Bubola | Johanna Lemola reported from Helsinki, Finland, and Emma Bubola from London. | Thursday, November 23, 2023

Sunak Could Block Human Rights Act to Force through Rwanda Asylum Plan

THE GUARDIAN: No 10 has discussed possibility of ‘disapplying’ key human rights law to emergency bill to head off legal challenges

The prime minister is under intense pressure from the Conservative right to get the Rwanda scheme working. Photograph: Leon Neal/PA
Rishi Sunak is considering blocking a key human rights law to help force through plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda amid growing pressure from rightwing Conservative MPs.

No 10 has discussed the possibility of “disapplying” the Human Rights Act to an emergency bill in an effort to minimise legal challenges against the prime minister’s key immigration policy. Ministers are aware such a proposal could face rebellions in the Commons and the Lords, which could vote down the proposals.

A Conservative party source said: “This would tear the party apart. Several cabinet ministers and the one nationers would not stand for it – the prime minister wouldn’t even get it through the Commons. Never mind that this wouldn’t placate the head-bangers on the right either.” » | Rajeev Syal, Home affairs editor | Sunday, November 19, 2023

Is this man truly fit to govern us? – © Mark Alexander

Le Maroc repousse des centaines de migrants qui tentaient d’entrer dans l’enclave espagnole de Ceuta

LE MONDE : C’est la troisième fois en moins d’un mois que des migrants essaient de passer la frontière, sans y parvenir. La coopération entre Rabat et Madrid est citée en exemple.

Un millier de migrants d’Afrique subsaharienne ont, selon la presse marocaine, tenté de franchir la clôture qui sépare le Maroc de l’enclave espagnole de Ceuta, vendredi 17 novembre au matin. Divisés en plusieurs groupes, ils ont convergé vers trois endroits : au nord de la ville, au niveau du quartier de Benzú, au sud, à proximité de la plage de Tarajal, et plus à l’est, dans la zone de Finca Berrocal. La plupart a été stoppée en territoire marocain par les forces de l’ordre, mais une centaine a réussi à s’approcher de la barrière extérieure de Ceuta, quelques-uns parvenant à l’escalader sans toutefois la franchir, selon la Guardia Civil espagnole. » | Par Alexandre Aublanc (Casablanca, correspondance) | samedi 18 novembre 2023

Today Rishi Sunak Announced that a Law in Parliament Can Change Morality

Nov 15, 2023 | Professor Tim Wilson: What the Supreme Court rules as unsafe can be legislated as "safe". What is bad can be renamed "good" by an act of Supremacy. No one should be silent in the face of this outrage.

The mere thought of sending these people to Rwanda is absolutely abhorrent to me. Many of those people they want to send might well be gay; so how are these people going to be treated in Rwanda? As for Suella Braverman, thank God she's gone. (But how much trouble for Sunak is she going to make from the back benches?) As for Rishi Sunak himself, he's a schoolboy in a man's world, playing politics and playing to the fascist, right-wing fools that follow him and his ilk. The best of Tories have long gone. We are left with the dross. – © Mark Alexander

Pope Slams ‘Indifference’ towards Migrants Arriving in Europe by Sea

Sep 23, 2023 | The head of the Catholic Church has urged nations to overcome what he calls a "paralysis of fear" about refugees and migrants. Pope Francis is on a tour in Marseille, in southern France.

There has been a surge in the number of refugees and migrants arriving on Europe's shores in recent weeks.

Al Jazeera's Natasha Butler has this report from Paris, France.

U.S. Knew Saudis Were Killing African Migrants

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The United States was told last year that Saudi security forces were shooting, shelling and abusing groups of migrants, but it chose not to raise the issue publicly.

Last fall, American diplomats received grim news that border guards in Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. partner in the Middle East, were using lethal force against African migrants who were trying to enter the kingdom from Yemen.

The diplomats got more detail in December, when United Nations officials presented them with information about Saudi security forces shooting, shelling and abusing migrants, leaving many dead and wounded, according to U.S. officials and a person who attended the meetings, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity since they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

In the months since, American officials have not publicly criticized the Saudis’ conduct, although State Department officials said this past week, following a published report of the killings, that U.S. diplomats have raised the issue with their Saudi counterparts and asked them to investigate. It remains unclear whether those discussions have affected Saudi actions. » | Ben Hubbard and Edward Wong, Ben Hubbard reported from Istanbul and Edward Wong from Washington. | Saturday, August 26, 2023

Jacob Rees-Mogg Suffers Epic Humiliation at the Hands of Human Rights Lawyer Geoffrey Robertson

Mar 30, 2023 | Jacob Rees-Mogg suffers an embarrassing defeat at the hands of human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson. Rees-Mogg is made to look silly, petty and clueless, all whilst maintaining a his customary veneer of misplaced smugness.

Jacob Rees-Mogg is a complete and utter fool! An anachronism. A throwback. A fossil. A man with disgusting ideas. – © Mark Alexander

Italy's Hard Line on Migration Leaves Hundreds Stranded in Mediterranean | DW News

Nov 6, 2022 | Several rescue ships with hundreds of migrants on board are stuck in the Mediterranean, waiting for permission to dock. But Italy's new right-wing government has hardened its stance on migration. One German ship has docked in Sicily, but many on board have been refused permission to come on land.

As French Election Looms, Candidates Stake Out Tough Positions on Migrants

THE NEW YORK TIMES: France has fewer immigrants than other rich nations. But politicians are hardening their positions against immigration even as other countries compete for migrant workers.

Migrants waiting to be allocated emergency accommodation by a nonprofit organization in Paris in April. | Andrea Mantovani for The New York Times
PARIS — An out-of-control influx of immigrants. A threat to French identity and stability. A reason to urgently close France’s frontiers.

The issue of immigration is dominating political debate in the country five months before presidential elections, as candidates on the right as well as the left harden their positions. The drowning last week of 27 migrants off France’s northern coast has only added to the argument that migration must be checked.

Despite the fierce words on the campaign trail, the reality is far different: Nearly all of France’s neighbors have a greater proportion of immigrants in their populations. In the past decade, immigration has grown less in France than in the rest of Europe or in other rich nations worldwide.

The figures show that the migration situation in France is “rather ordinary, rather moderate,’’ said François Héran, a leading expert on migration who teaches at Collège de France. “We’re really not a country overrun by immigration,’’ Mr. Héran said. » | Norimitsu Onishi | Thursday, December 2, 2021

Crise des migrants : Darmanin appelle le Royaume-Uni à «prendre ses responsabilités»

Gérald Darmanin, Ministre de l'Intérieur
LE FIGARO : À l'issue de la réunion de crise sur les migrants qui s'est tenue ce dimanche à Calais, le ministre de l'Intérieur a déclaré que la France ne devait pas être «l'otage de la politique intérieure» du Royaume-Uni.

«La Grande-Bretagne doit prendre ses responsabilités», a affirmé Gérald Darmanin à l'issue de la réunion de crise sur les migrants menée à Calais avec d'autres représentants européens. Le ministre de l'Intérieur a toutefois assuré que cette réunion n'était pas «antianglaise, mais proeuropéenne». «Nous devons travailler avec nos amis britanniques. Ils doivent nous aider collectivement à mieux lutter contre les passeurs», a-t-il poursuivi. La réunion d'urgence s'est tenue à la suite de la mort de 27 migrants lors du naufrage d'un bateau pneumatique dans la Manche mercredi. Regarder la vidéo » | Par Le Figaro | dimanche 28 novembre 2021

Migrants on EU's Borders Risk Life and Limb for a Better Life | DW News

Nov 26, 2021 • As temperatures across Europe plummet, thousands of migrants are still stranded in Belarus. Many have spent weeks outside in freezing forests near Poland. They're still hoping to find a route into the European Union - though Brussels insists the bloc will not accept them. DW’s Nick Connolly met some of those migrants in the Belarusian capital Minsk. He spoke to people torn between hope and resignation.

Meanwhile, the exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has told the European Union it must live up to its values and actively oppose the authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko. DW's Barbara Wesel caught up with her in Brussels.

And the deaths of 27 people in the English Channel are deepening tensions between Britain and France. The French interior minister has cancelled weekend talks with his UK counterpart after suggestions by the British Prime Minister France wasn't doing enough to stop migrants trying to reach England by boat. DW correspondent Jack Parrock visited the French port of Calais. And spoke to people hoping to make the same journey.

At Least 30 Reported Dead after Dinghy Capsizes in Channel

THE GUARDIAN: Fifty people said to have been onboard inflatable boat as authorities search for people alive in water

At least 30 people have died trying to cross the Channel to the UK in an inflatable dinghy, French officials say, in what would be the deadliest incident since the current crisis began.

Jean-Marc Puissesseau, the president and chairman of the ports of Calais and Boulogne, told BBC News: “What I know is that there were 50 people on this boat. What I have heard is that there are 30 people who have died, and about five or six who have been found.”

The mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, earlier said the death toll stood at 27 at 5pm UK time, but other French officials had warned they expected the total to rise.

A rescue operation is under way in the Channel by air and sea as French and British authorities search for anyone still in the water. » | Angelique Chrisafis in Paris | Wednesday, November 24, 2021

Manche : au moins 31 morts dans le naufrage d'un bateau de migrants au large de Dunkerque : Partis des côtes proches de Dunkerque, ils ont péri dans le naufrage de leur embarcation. Quatre passeurs ont été arrêtés, a indiqué Gérald Darmanin. »

Calais : au moins trente et un migrants morts dans le naufrage d’une embarkation : Un pêcheur a donné l’alerte en début d’après-midi, signalant alors une quinzaine de corps. « La France ne laissera pas la Manche devenir un cimetière », a déclaré Emmanuel Macron. Une réunion interministérielle doit se tenir jeudi matin, selon Matignon. »

La Pologne annonce la construction d'un mur en décembre à sa frontière avec la Biélorussie

Plusieurs milliers de migrants tentent de rentrer en Pologne afin de rejoindre l'Union européenne. Leonid SHCHEGLOV / BELTA / AFP
LE FIGARO : Le gouvernement polonais veut empêcher les migrants de rentrer sur son territoire. La frontière avec la Biélorussie fait plus de 400 kilomètres.

La Pologne va commencer en décembre la construction d'un mur le long de la frontière avec la Biélorussie, où de nombreux migrants sont actuellement massés, et la finira au premier semestre 2022, a annoncé lundi 15 novembre dans un communiqué le ministère de l'Intérieur. «L'entreprise que nous devons mener à bien est un investissement absolument stratégique et prioritaire pour la sécurité de la nation et de ses citoyens», a déclaré le ministre de l'Intérieur Mariusz Kaminski. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | lundi 15 novembre 2021

À LIRE AUSSI : Crise des migrants : le Haut-Commissaire aux Réfugiés de l'ONU appelle à «trouver des solutions» : Si Filippo Grandi a dénoncé dimanche sur LCI la manipulation de la Biélorussie, il a aussi souligné la «panique» des Européens, rappelant qu'il ne s'agit que de quelques milliers de personnes. »

Poland Uses Water Cannons and Tear Gas as Tensions Rise at Belarus Border: Western leaders have accused President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus of using migrants as weapons in an effort to pressure the European Union. »

La Russie et la Turquie assurent n'avoir «rien à voir» avec la crise migratoire à la frontière Pologne-Biélorussie

LE FIGARO : Le président russe Vladimir Poutine et le porte-parole de la présidence turque Ibrahim Kalin ont rejeté ce samedi toute responsabilité dans l'afflux de milliers de migrants.

Le président russe Vladimir Poutine a rejeté dans une interview diffusée samedi toute responsabilité dans la crise migratoire en cours à la frontière entre la Biélorussie et la Pologne, où des milliers de migrants sont massés depuis des jours. «Je veux que tout le monde le sache. Nous n'avons rien à voir là-dedans», a déclaré le président à la chaîne Vesti, après que plusieurs voix occidentales l'ont accusé cette semaine d'avoir orchestré avec Minsk l'envoi de ces migrants à la frontière.

Vladimir Poutine a également affirmé que les dirigeants européens devaient s'adresser directement au président biélorusse Alexandre Loukachenko pour résoudre cette crise. «D'après ce que j'ai compris, Alexandre Loukachenko et (la chancelière allemande Angela) Merkel sont prêts à se parler», a indiqué Poutine. «J'espère que cela arrivera dans un futur proche», a-t-il ajouté, rejetant la responsabilité de la crise sur l'Occident. Regarder la vidéo » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | samedi 13 novembre 2021

À LIRE AUSSI : Pour Vladimir Poutine, l’aubaine d’une crise aux portes de l’Union européenne : DÉCRYPTAGE - Le président russe, s’il n’a sans doute pas déclenché cette situation explosive, s’érige en recours incontournable. »

L’afflux de migrants suscite la tension entre Paris et Londres

Depuis le début de l’année, 14 000 migrants auraient réussi à débarquer sur les côtes anglaises (ici, mardi, à Dungeness), contre 8 000 pour l’année 2020. PETER NICHOLLS/REUTERS
LE FIGARO : RÉCIT - Le Royaume-Uni menace de ne pas verser les 60 millions d’euros promis pour renforcer les garde-côtes français.

Correspondant à Londres
Une fois de plus, la question des migrants met aux prises Paris et Londres. Alors que les Britanniques reprochent aux Français leur inaction sur le sujet et menacent de durcir leur riposte, les Français accusent le gouvernement de Boris Johnson de «chantage». La visite du ministre français de l’Intérieur à Londres, mercredi, n’a pas apaisé les esprits, tant s’en faut. Dès jeudi matin, la presse titrait sur les menaces de Priti Patel, son homologue britannique, de refouler les bateaux de migrants vers la France. Au début de la semaine, elle avait déjà laissé entendre que le Royaume-Uni pourrait ne pas verser les 60 millions d’euros promis pour financer le renforcement des forces de l’ordre françaises sur les côtes. «La France n’acceptera aucune pratique contraire au droit de la mer ni aucun chantage financier», a réagi sur Twitter Gérald Darmanin. » | Par Arnaud De La Grange | jeudi 9 septembre 2021

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(Un)Welcome: Sweden's Rise of the Right

In this installment of CBSN Originals’ ongoing examination at how migration is reshaping the world, Adam Yamaguchi travels to Sweden to examine how a record influx of migrants has coincided with the recently welcoming and politically progressive nation's swift shift to the right.

The World This Week – EU Migrant Divide; Trump's Supreme Court; Mexico Elections; World Cup: #LetHerWork

Who Wants Migrants Rescued from the Mediterranean Sea? | Inside Story

The arguments over who should take responsibility for refugees arriving in Europe are heating up again. EU leaders have long been divided about how to handle the migrant crisis, which is being highlighted by the grueling voyage undertaken by 630 migrants now in Spain. They were stranded at sea for more than a week because of a diplomatic row. Italy and Malta refused to accept them after being rescued from overcrowded dinghies off the coast of Libya.

After much debate, the new Spanish government allowed the charity ship Aquarius and two other vessels to dock in Valencia. Anti-immigration sentiment has increased in Europe with right-wing parties who want tougher rules making gains in Austria, Germany and Italy.

There is widespread agreement that the EU needs to overhaul asylum and immigration laws, but disagreement on how. An EU summit is due to discuss new rules in Brussels at the end of this month. Can they overcome their deep divisions?

Presenter: Elizabeth Puranam | Guests: William Lacy Swing - Director General, International Organization for Migration; Francesco Galietti - Head of Policy Sonar political risk consultancy