Rishi Sunak has had a small win in the ongoing saga of the UK government’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. The second reading of the safety of Rwanda (asylum and immigration) bill has passed the Commons, despite rightwing Conservative MPs abstaining.
This bill has been proposed as a way to effectively defy the UK Supreme Court’s ruling that the Rwanda plan was unlawful. The court found that Rwanda was not a “safe” country to send refugees, because there could be a risk of individuals being returned to their country of origin, where they may suffer ill treatment.
This is prohibited under international law, including the European convention on human rights and the UN refugee convention. It is also enshrined in domestic UK law through the Human Rights Act, the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act, the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act and the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc) Act.
