PM BORIS JOHNSON ARRIVES RWANDA
British premier arrives in Rwanda for Commonwealth summit:
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting starts under shadow of UK's controversial Rwanda deportation plan. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in the Rwandan capital Kigali for a summit of Commonwealth countries where global challenges will be discussed. "I've arrived in Rwanda for CHOGM to address global challenges, from hunger to climate change, and to turbocharge trade with some of the world's most dynamic economies," Johnson said on Twitter early on Thursday.
"With our shared values, history and language -- the Commonwealth is a unique and vital association," he added.
The British premier is expected to develop his country's trade ties with the 54-member club as the country's trade with the EU has shrunk since Brexit and saw its highest inflation rates of the last 40 years. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting will also include representatives from Australia and Jamaica, two countries that have in recent years been discussing cutting ties with the British monarchy. Prince Charles is representing Queen Elizabeth II at the meeting that is convening for the first time since 2018 due to the pandemic. The event coincided with uncertainty over the British government's controversial Rwanda plan, with which it plans to remove thousands of asylum seekers to the East African country.
Its first planned flight was grounded on June 14 after a last minute legal intervention from the European Court of Human Rights. Prince Charles has described the plan as "appalling" and said he was "more than disappointed" by the deportation plan, according to The Times. The Commonwealth summit will continue until Sunday. It is important for us to note that the UK gov't plans to introduce a bill for local courts to supersede ECHR rulings on Rwanda plan. The Bill of Rights came to parliament on Wednesday following the Strasbourg court's intervention in the 1st Rwanda flight last week. The British government is set to introduce a new bill on Wednesday to empower courts to make the final decision on the removal of asylum seekers to Rwanda and the deportation of foreign criminals, superseding the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
The Bill of Rights, which will be brought to the House of Commons, aims to make the country's Supreme Court the final decision maker on such cases. This comes after the ECHR in Strasbourg blocked the UK government's first flight to Rwanda under a controversial scheme last week, by removing individuals who were to be sent to the eastern African country. "The Bill of Rights will strengthen our UK tradition of freedom whilst injecting a healthy dose of common sense into the system," said Dominic Raab, deputy prime minister and justice minister. "These reforms will reinforce freedom of speech, enable us to deport more foreign offenders and better protect the public from dangerous criminals." Speaking to Sky News, Raab said it was "legitimate to push back against the ECHR rulings," and that he wanted the new bill to assert that British courts were not always bound by ECHR rulings.
The bill will need the approval of both houses of parliament, as well as royal assent, to become law. Human rights activists, legal professionals, and non-governmental organizations have come out in harsh opposition against the Rwanda plan. The first flight to Rwanda, which would have carried at least seven asylum seekers, was cancelled last week after the ECHR's intervention.
Gab Ellison, reporting for undaunted- ABC AMBA NEWS.
