Concern Over Women Caught in the UK’s Relocation Plan

A woman in immigration detention has been targeted for removal to Rwanda, a UK refugee charity has said. Women for Refugee Women said it was in touch with a survivor of trafficking who was recently issued with a notice of intent that she was being considered for removal to Rwanda. Charity workers say that instead of offering the woman protection and the chance to rebuild her life in the UK, the government is proposing to force her against her will to Rwanda. The Guardian revealed on Sunday that the Home Office was planning a second flight to Rwanda after the first plane, which was due to take off for the country’s capital, Kigali, was grounded on 14 June following an 11th-hour intervention by the European court of human rights. While the Home Office has not ruled out sending women and children to Rwanda alongside men, this is the first time a woman is thought to have been issued with a notice of intent. Those earmarked for the first flight were all male. It is understood dozens of male asylum seekers placed in immigration detention after their recent arrivals to the UK in small boats or lorries have also been issued with notices of intent for the second flight to Rwanda. Women for Refugee Women has expressed particular concern about the Home Office’s decision to target women for removal to Rwanda before a legal challenge the charity launched in the high court against the home secretary, Priti Patel, has been concluded.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN