Rwanda Bill passes first hurdle in UK Parliament

BASW joined with human rights and social justice organisations to call on MPs to vote against the UK Government's controversial Rwanda Bill.
Westminster

The Rwanda Bill passed Second Reading on 12th December, overcoming its first obstacle on the way to becoming law. The Bill passed despite many Conservative MPs threatening to rebel due to believing that the Bill was not strong enough.

The Bill, officially known as the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, relates to the removal of asylum-seekers from the UK to Rwanda. Last month, the Supreme Court found that the Government’s plan to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda to be processed as unlawful. 

In an attempt to overcome this ruling, Rishi Sunak introduced the Rwanda Bill which seeks to declare in UK law that Rwanda is a safe county to send asylum seekers to. 

BASW had joined with a coalition of human rights and social justice organisations who have publicly urged the House of Commons to decline to give the Rwanda Bill a Second Reading as we believe the Bill is contrary to the rule of law. The Supreme Court made a factual assessment of the risk of harm in Rwanda, and instead of properly addressing the courts concerns, the Government are attempting to simply push through a law that would declare Rwanda safe. This legislates a legal fiction and is an abuse of Parliament’s role. 

The Rwanda Bill also disapplies treaties that the UK remains bound by internationally and breaches the European Convention on Human Rights. 

The Bill will go through more stages when Parliament returns in 2024, and BASW will continue to take a stand against this legislation.