
British lawmakers have approved a contentious bill to send undocumented migrants to Rwanda. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the plan will deter people from illegally crossing the English Channel. But United Nations officials are urging a rethink.
The legislation passed the House of Lords after clearing Parliament's lower chamber. It's one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's flagship policies ahead of a general election due by late January next year.
Undocumented migrants are pouring into Britain, this year reportedly at the fastest pace ever. And Britain's leaders say the problem is weighing heavily on the state coffers. So they've brokered a deal with Rwanda.
The East African nation is still emerging from a devastating period of genocide in the 1990s. But the British government says Rwanda belongs to international treaties aimed at protecting the rights of refugees.
◆contentious 激しい議論を引き起こす、物議を醸す
◆deter people from ~することを阻止する
◆flagship 最も重要な、主力の、目玉の
◆late January 1月下旬
◆weigh on ~にのしかかる、重荷になる
◆coffer 金庫、財源
◆broker a deal 取り引き、協定、取り決めなど」がまとまるよう取り計らう
◆emerge from (苦境から)抜け出る、立ち上がる
◆devastating 壊滅的な
◆genocide 大量虐殺、ジェノサイド