Last night, the Rwanda Bill was passed in the House of Lords. This means that the Bill now awaits royal ascent, after which it will become law. Please find below a statement from Routes, on this sad and momentous day.
Seeking asylum is a human right and we are deeply saddened and angry by the passing of the Rwanda Bill last night.
How did we get here?
Our current government has shown unprecedented commitment to passing this legislation after the UK Supreme Court found the previous Bill with the same intent to be unlawful. Though the House of Lords suggested many amendments, very few were actually incorporated into the Bill that has now passed.
The Bill includes clauses that ignore international law and the UK’s own Human Rights Act. It is contradictory to previous rulings of UK domestic courts, as well as the European Court for Human Rights. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights have already sounded the alarm on the implications of this piece of legislation, as has the Council of Europe’s human rights Watchdog.
Most importantly, this Bill is about a very simple question: how does the UK want to treat people seeking safety? As such, it concerns us all.
What does this mean?
This Bill states that Rwanda should now ‘conclusively’ be treated as save, overruling the findings of the Supreme Court last year.
This is not just a political debate - this has very real implications for people’s lives, and the things they might come to fear. People who are seeking safety should not be put through further traumatising experiences, should not be put in detention and should not be at risk of being forcibly removed.
There is also a ‘voluntary and assisted departure scheme’, which offers people significant financial support, if they choose to go to Rwanda ‘voluntary’. These offers are made to people on the spot, without ensuring they have legal support or interpretation where needed. Whilst the current UK asylum-system is justifiably called ‘the Hostile Environment’, fear and ‘voluntary departure’ should not be people’s only options.
Our response
We stand with everyone organising against the implications of these Anti-Refugee Laws, and who continue to do so. We’ve signed an open letter to Rishi Sunak along with 250 other organisations expressing our outrage at the “shameful and performatively cruel law that will risk people's lives”.
We hold in our thoughts everyone in the sector who feel the impact of this news, as it reverberates across our communities. In particular, we are thinking of the individuals who might be directly affected in the coming weeks, by receiving notices of intended removal and - by implication of this Bill - now having limited means of challenging unjust decisions. There is lots of work to be done, and these decisions will be challenged.
What you can do?
This moment is an invitation to us all, to speak up about refugee rights. Please make sure this is a conversation to be had, in your family, community and at your work place in the days and weeks to come. This blog by City of Sanctuary is a great place to start.
We expect that there will be lots of opportunities to support the fight against this legislation. We will share campaigns and further opportunities here.
Routes remains committed to delivering our Programmes, and speaking out for a fair, compassionate and welcoming asylum-system. Please read our 2023/2024 Impact Report here, to learn more about the work that we do.
