White House sees possible threat to Good Friday agreement

The British government’s attempt to salvage its controversial policy of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda is drawing the attention of the White House, which wants to ensure that any renewed legislation does not undermine the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, according to two officials from the Biden administration.

“Certainly all are keeping an eye on Northern Ireland,” said a senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

That a British immigration policy involving some flights to an East African country would affect Northern Ireland is one of the strange second-order effects of British membership of the EU. European Convention on Human Rightsan international agreement it helped draft after World War II.

And the fact that it would attract Washington’s attention speaks to Northern Ireland’s sensitivity in the transatlantic relationship. President Biden, a proud Irish American, has taken a keen interest in the Good Friday Agreement, which was brokered under another Democratic president, Bill Clinton, and ended decades of sectarian strife.

The British Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that the Conservative government’s flagship immigration policy – which involves sending asylum seekers to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed, and that continue to live there if their claims are granted – violated international and domestic human rights laws.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed to press ahead with the plan regardless, enacting emergency legislation that would sidestep legal challenges, including those to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Some belonged to the right wing of his party – the most prominent Suella Braverman, who until recently was Home Secretary, have argued that Britain should simply withdraw from the convention. Mr Sunak sacked Ms Braverman in a cabinet reshuffle last week and replaced her with a more moderate figure, James Cleverly.

White House officials noted that Mr. Cleverly said shortly after his appointment that he did not believe Britain should withdraw from the convention. Such a move, legal experts said, would pose a threat direct threat to the Good Friday Agreementas the treaty incorporates the treaty into Northern Ireland law.

Yet even the government’s promise of new legislation could weaken the Good Friday Agreement, these experts say. The scope of Mr Sunak’s legislation is not yet clear. But one option is for the government to try to block the authority of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, which upholds the convention and prevents it from ruling on the legality of Britain’s asylum policy.

“In my view this would be a breach of the treaty,” said Catherine Barnard, a professor and expert in international law at the University of Cambridge, although she added that “a deliberate breach is clearly not as serious as withdrawing from the treaty altogether.” agreement. .”

Britain is trying to renegotiate its treaty with Rwanda to include a binding pledge that it will not deport migrants sent there by Britain – one of the court’s main concerns. But it remains unclear whether the new law will survive further legal challenges or whether the House of Lords, the unelected upper chamber of parliament, has the right to review the legislation and could block it.

Mr Sunak is under intense pressure to stem the flow of asylum seekers making the dangerous crossing of the English Channel in small boats. It is one of five goals he has set for his government and an issue resonating with many in the North of England and the Midlands who voted for the Conservative Party in 2019.

The question threatens to divide the party between hardliners like Ms. Braverman and more moderate figures, who warn that rejecting the convention tarnish Britain’s international reputation. The agreement, which came into effect in 1953, was reached between members of the Council of Europe, a separate human rights organization from the European Union, which Britain left in 2020.

The Irish government, which is a party to the Good Friday Agreement, has lobbied US officials over the risks of Britain leaving the convention. British diplomats said they were aware of US concerns, although they said the Biden administration had not raised the issue since the court ruling on Rwanda.

They said the Americans have expressed curiosity about the Rwanda policy, which has no equivalent in the United States. Like Mr Sunak, Mr Biden is struggling with illegal immigration on the eve of an election year.

Tensions over the Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement, have been an undercurrent in the transatlantic relationship since Mr Biden became president. Earlier this year he urged Sunak to settle a standoff with the European Union over post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland. In February, Mr Sunak did this by signing the Windsor Framework with Brussels.

By all accounts, relations have accelerated since then. Mr Biden and Mr Sunak are closely aligned in their support for Israel in its war against Hamas and for Ukraine in its war against Russia, although British officials have been alarmed by signs of wavering support for Ukraine in Congress.

The White House sent Vice President Kamala Harris to an artificial intelligence summit convened by Mr Sunak earlier this month. Some observers snapped that Ms. Harris was poking fun at Mr. Sunak by introducing an executive order on AI safety signed by Mr. Biden that same week. But British officials said the order added to the seriousness of the meeting.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said it would not comment on a hypothetical scenario in which Britain left the convention. But it added: “Our priority remains protecting the achievements of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and maintaining peace, stability and prosperity for the people of Northern Ireland.”