HandoutMigrants stranded for years on the distant Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia will probably be supplied the correct to return to the UK, underneath a authorities proposal.
Round 60 Sri Lankan Tamils have spent greater than three years in a makeshift camp on the island, which hosts a secretive UK-US navy base, after turning into the primary individuals ever to file asylum claims there.
The federal government has beforehand opposed bringing the group to the UK and sophisticated authorized battles have been fought for years over their destiny.
In a letter on Monday, authorities attorneys mentioned that “following additional consideration”, the federal government had proposed a “change of coverage”.
Beneath this, “all households, youngsters and people of the unaccompanied males who would not have felony convictions, excellent prices or investigations can be supplied the chance to be transferred on to the UK”.
It added that work on the supply was “ongoing” and a proper determination can be made inside 48 hours. “Particulars will probably be supplied as quickly as attainable,” it mentioned.
In a telephone name with one of many Tamils, an official mentioned the choice to carry them to the UK was because of the “distinctive circumstances” of the island, including that entry can be for “a brief time frame”.
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesperson advised reporters at a day by day information briefing in Downing Avenue that “the federal government inherited a deeply-troubling scenario that remained unresolved underneath the earlier administration when it got here to migrants who had arrived at Diego Garcia. Diego Garcia had clearly by no means been an acceptable long-term location for migrants”.
He added “the federal government has been working to discover a answer that protects their welfare and the integrity of British territorial borders”.
Legal professionals representing the Tamils described the transfer as a “very welcome step” in a “lengthy battle for justice”.
“After three years residing in inhumane situations, having to struggle varied injustices in court docket on quite a few events, His Majesty’s Authorities [HMG] has now determined that our purchasers ought to now come on to the UK. We hope that HMG will now take pressing steps to offer impact to this determination,” Simon Robinson of UK legislation agency Duncan Lewis advised the BBC.
“It appears like a dream. I don’t know what to assume,” one Tamil mentioned after receiving a name from an official with the information.
The UK had beforehand supplied among the group a brief transfer to Romania with the potential of then coming to the UK. Others have been supplied monetary incentives to return to Sri Lanka.
The newest improvement comes after the UK introduced final month that it was handing sovereignty of British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot), which includes Diego Garcia, to Mauritius. The navy base, nonetheless, will stay on the island.
Beneath a separate deal final month, future migrants arriving on Biot earlier than the association with Mauritius comes into pressure will probably be transferred to the island of St Helena – one other UK territory some 5,000 miles away.
In court docket on Monday, attorneys mentioned three individuals with felony convictions could also be despatched to the island of Montserrat – a British territory within the Caribbean – to serve their sentences.
The BBC was recently granted unprecedented access to Diego Garcia to attend a court docket listening to, which is ready to find out whether or not the Tamils had been unlawfully detained.
Through the go to, the migrants walked the court docket by way of navy tents they’ve been residing in, declaring damp, tears within the canvas, droppings, and a rats’ nest above one of many beds.
Over the previous three years, there have been a number of starvation strikes on the island, and quite a few incidents of self-harm and suicide makes an attempt after which some individuals have been transferred to Rwanda for medical care.
“For 3 years I’ve been caged. Now they’re releasing me however I don’t know what to do. I really feel a bit clean,” one man in Rwanda mentioned.
“I’m very completely happy as a result of I’m coming to the UK. I believed they might ship me to another nation.”
The group consists of 16 youngsters. Most are awaiting last choices on claims for worldwide safety – which the United Nations says is akin to refugee standing – or interesting towards rejections. In complete, eight have been granted worldwide safety.
