UK: Sunak's Plan to Deport Asylum Seekers to Rwanda Delayed by House of Lords

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Facts

  • The House of Lords, the UK’s upper chamber of Parliament, on Monday voted against ratifying Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda Treaty, a key part of the legislation in an attempted government policy to deport asylum seekers to the Central African country.1
  • The Lords' motion concerned a recent committee report that concluded Rwanda cannot be deemed a safe place to deport small boat arrivals until 'a significant number of further legal and practical steps' are taken. It argued the bill shouldn't come into force until the government implements the report's recommendations.2
  • Following debate in the upper chamber, the motion passed 214-171. It was the first time that the plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda has seen legislative defeat, after the House of Commons narrowly passed the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill last week.3
  • The bill was introduced by Sunak's government in response to a Supreme Court ruling last year that found the UK could not guarantee the safety of asylum seekers deported to Rwanda. The legislation aims to deflect future legal challenges through the inclusion of language that declares Rwanda 'safe' for asylum seekers.4
  • While the motion passed by the House of Lords is not binding on the government, it does delay the ratification of a treaty the UK signed with Rwanda in December to underpin the asylum deal.5

Sources: 1The Guardian, 2POLITICO, 3Sky News, 4Al Jazeera and 5BBC News.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by The Guardian. This vote was not merely about the merits or morals of the government's draconian Rwanda policy, but about democracy itself. This treaty seeks to override a Supreme Court ruling that declared Britain cannot guarantee the safety of asylum seekers in Rwanda, thus violating its obligations under international law. Sunak has tried to place himself above the purview of the courts — this kind of behavior risks undermining the role of the judiciary in checking the executive, it must be rejected.
  • Right narrative, as provided by Conservative Home. While the UK’s Rwanda policy continues to garner unwarranted criticism, the government has appeased all constitutional concerns and secured a binding agreement with Rwanda that will continue to be carefully monitored. Parliament must, as soon as possible, accept this reality and facilitate plans for illegal immigrants to finally begin boarding planes to Rwanda.

Predictions