By: Richard Huang
On June 18th, English Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended a
British government program which would apply GPS on refugees as
a way to keep people arriving in the country in the migration
system.
Johnson stated that asylum seekers can’t just vanish into the rest
of the country, and he said that he is “proud” of the government for
trying to track the refugees using GPS.
Under the new announcements, refugees who flee to the UK
across the English Channel are choosing “unnecessary and
dangerous routes,”, so they will be required to wear a GPS tag and
report their status periodically to authorities. Furthermore, some can
expect curfew and exclusion from certain locations.
People who fail to abide by the guidelines would risk detention
and prosecution.
However, human rights and refugee organizations sternly
condemned this new program, saying that the surveillance and
monitors criminalize the refugees, and can potentially bring
detrimental effects on those who escaped because of government
surveillance, making it impossible for most authentic refugees to
enter the country legally.
“The amount of suffering that can be caused to someone who is a
torture survivor or who is mentally ill far outweighs the very
minimal
benefits for the government,” said Sue Willman, a human rights
lawyer and the chairwoman of the Human Rights Committee at The
Law Society, a British legal group. “The person is being effectively
surveilled 24/7 — while they’re on the toilet, while they’re in bed.”
Johnson’s defense comes just days after a ruling by the European
Court of Human Rights, which forcefully halted the deportation of
refugees from Britain to Rwanda. Although Britain is no longer a
member of the European Union, it is a member of the Council of
Europe and a signatory to the European Convention on Human
Rights, and therefore accepts its ruling. This injunction significantly
impacted British policy that is intended to deter asylum seekers from
arriving in Britain from France.
Despite the cessation of Britain’s policy, Rwanda is still willing to
help the surge of refugees. “Rwanda remains fully committed to
making this partnership work,” Yolande Makolo, a spokeswoman
for the Rwandan government said. “The current situation of people
making dangerous journeys cannot continue as it is causing untold
suffering to so many. Rwanda stands ready to receive the migrants
when they do arrive and offer them safety and opportunity in our
country.”
“The government will not be deterred as we plan for the next
flight to Rwanda,” the spokesperson of the Home Office said. “We
will keep as many people in detention as the law allows but where a
court orders that an individual due to be on Tuesday’s flight should
be released, we will tag them where appropriate.”
Sources:
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%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf