In an unprecedented move, the House of Lords has called for the UK-Rwanda treaty to be delayed until Rwanda can improve its asylum procedures. The non-binding motion passed by 214 votes to 171, urging the UK government not to ratify the treaty signed in December last year. The treaty, separate from the Rwanda Safety Bill, is central to the UK government’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron made a plea for peers to support the bill, stating that the Rwanda plan would prevent asylum seekers from using safe countries like France as a conduit to enter the UK. The UK government’s proposal has faced substantial opposition, with the cross-party International Agreements Committee raising ten outstanding issues with Rwanda’s asylum system.
Although non-binding, the vote comes as an indication of opposition Mr. Rishi Sunak’s government may face. While the treaty doesn’t require parliamentary approval, it forms a fundamental part of the government’s plan to stop migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats.
Proposed legislation that aims to prevent legal challenges to deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda, set to be debated next week, comes after the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled the Rwanda policy was unlawful. Home Secretary James Cleverly signed a new legally binding treaty last year, which would ensure relocated individuals are not returned to a country where their life or freedom is threatened. Furthermore, a Monitoring Committee will be established to enforce the provisions of the treaty.
However, the House of Lords has argued that the treaty should not be ratified until the UK government can prove Rwanda is safe and protections promised in the treaty have been introduced. Although non-binding, the vote could feature in future legal challenges against the policy, which the government has extolled as a means of deterrence to irregular migration
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More