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The British government’s plan to send some asylum-seekers on a one-way flight to Rwanda is “fundamentally incompatible” with the country’s human rights commitments, a parliamentary rights watchdog said Monday, as the contentious measure was debated in the House of Lords.
Parliament’s unelected upper chamber is reviewing a bill aimed at overturning the U.K. Supreme Court’s finding that the Rwanda plan is illegal. The court ruled in November that the East African country is not secure for migrants.
The Safety of Rwanda Bill declares the country safe, making it more difficult for migrants to dispute deportation, and permits the British government to ignore European Court of Human Rights injunctions that aim to prevent removals.
According to a report by Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, which includes members from both the government and opposition parties, the bill “openly invites the possibility of the U.K. breaching international law” and allows British officials “to act in a manner that is incompatible with human rights standards.”
According to Scottish National Party politician Joanna Cherry, who chairs the committee, the bill “risks untold damage to the U.K.’s reputation as a proponent of human rights.”
“This bill is designed to remove vital safeguards against persecution and human rights abuses, including the fundamental right to access a court,” she said in a statement. “Hostility to human rights is at its heart and no amendments can salvage it.”
The Home Office described the Rwanda idea as a “bold and innovative” response to a “major global challenge.”
“Rwanda is clearly a safe country that cares deeply about supporting refugees,” it stated in a statement. “It hosts more than 135,000 asylum seekers and stands ready to relocate people and help them rebuild their lives.”
According to the policy, asylum seekers who arrive in the United Kingdom by small boat across the English Channel would have their claims assessed in Rwanda and would be allowed to reside there permanently. The idea is critical to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s commitment to “stop the boats” that bring undocumented migrants to the United Kingdom. Sunak contends that deporting undocumented asylum seekers will discourage individuals from taking dangerous travels and disrupt the business model of people-smuggling gangs.
Human rights groups have condemned the scheme as harsh and unrealistic, and no one has yet been dispatched to Rwanda.
In reaction to the Supreme Court verdict, Britain and Rwanda signed a pact committing to strengthen migrant rights. Sunak’s Conservative administration claims the treaty authorizes it to enact legislation declaring Rwanda a safe destination.
The bill was passed by the House of Commons last month, but only after 60 members of Sunak’s ruling Conservatives defected to toughen the legislation.
It is now being examined by the Lords, many of whom want to repeal or weaken the law. Unlike the Commons, the ruling Conservatives do not have a majority of seats in the Lords.
Finally, the upper chamber can postpone and change legislation, but it cannot overturn the elected Commons.
