Britain’s Conservative government hopes to pass Rwanda’s Security Bill on Wednesday, after a lengthy back-and-forth between the two houses of parliament, during which the legislation has drawn sustained criticism.
The bill aims to pave the way for the government to put some asylum seekers on a one-way flight to Rwanda, in central Africa, without first hearing their cases. Human rights experts have denounced this approach, which they say violates Britain’s obligations under domestic and international law.
Crucially, under the government’s plans, even asylum seekers who were granted refugee status would be resettled in Rwanda, not Britain. The plan was deemed unlawful by Britain’s highest court late last year, when judges ruled that Rwanda was not a safe country for refugees to have their asylum cases heard or be resettled. The aim of the government’s new bill is to overrule the Supreme Court, in a complicated piece of legislative wrangling that has raised concerns about the rule of law and the separation of powers in Britain.
Three successive Conservative prime ministers have backed the plan, arguing it would deter people from risking the dangerous crossing of the English Channel in small boats. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly pledged to “stop the boats” ahead of this fall’s British election, and he has heralded the Rwanda bill as a crucial step toward that goal.
Britain has already paid Rwanda hundreds of millions of pounds in development aid and compensation to implement the plan. But no asylum seekers have been sent there yet, and legal challenges could thwart future deportation attempts. Here’s what’s happened so far.
March 2021
Boris Johnson is laying the foundation for a new approach to asylum seekers.
The British government, led at the time by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, promised a “comprehensive reform” of the country’s asylum system, proposing several measures including the removal of asylum seekers arriving by boat or other “illegal” routes in Britain arrive in Britain. third countries for processing. Mr Johnson, a leading Brexit campaigner, had pledged to take back control of Britain’s borders by leaving the European Union.
In May 2021, the United Nations Refugee Agency denounced the plan, saying it would violate Britain’s obligations under international law.
July 2021
A new law is being introduced to enable “offshore processing” of asylum applications.
Priti Patel, then the British Home Secretary – an agency that oversees immigration and the British asylum system – introduced the Nationality and Borders Bill in Parliament. The bill made it a criminal offense to enter the country illegally, for example by boat and without a visa. The bill also gave authorities more leeway to make arrests and established plans to take asylum seekers to a safe country while their claims were processed. No agreements with a host country had been confirmed at the time, but the bill became law in April 2022.
April 14, 2022
Boris Johnson announces agreement with Rwanda.
In a speech, Mr. Johnson announced a five-year deal with Rwanda under which Britain would send some asylum seekers there for treatment and resettlement at a cost of 120 million British pounds, or about $150 million today.
Human rights groups immediately denounced the plan. They said it breached the UK’s commitment to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, which states asylum seekers must be protected in the country they arrive and cannot be forcibly sent to unsafe places.
June 14, 2022
The first scheduled flight to Rwanda is grounded.
A last-minute legal intervention blocked the first flight that would take some asylum seekers to Rwanda.
About 130 people were initially expected to flee, but their numbers had dwindled due to a series of legal challenges. On the day of the flight there would be fewer than ten people on board. The departure was then stopped by an order from the European Court of Human Rights, a court based on a European treaty that Britain is a signatory to.
March 7, 2023
Suella Braverman introduces the illegal migration law.
As the number of small boat trips across the English Channel continued to rise, a new immigration law was introduced by Suella Braverman, who was appointed Home Secretary during Liz Truss’s short-lived premiership and then reappointed by Mrs Truss’s successor, the Hon. Zonak. Ms Braverman said it was her “dream” to see flights carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda.
The bill, which came into force in July 2023, gave the Home Office a duty to remove almost all asylum seekers who arrived in Britain through means the government deemed illegal. Under the law, asylum seekers would be returned to their home country, “or another safe third country, such as Rwanda,” and would have no right to return, settlement or citizenship regardless of the outcome of their claim.
November 15, 2023
The British Supreme Court rules that the Rwanda policy is unlawful.
Throughout all this, the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was challenged in Britain’s domestic courts, with one case eventually ending up in the Supreme Court. In November, five judges ruled that the plan would breach both British and international law.
The judges found substantial grounds to believe that Rwanda could not be considered safe for refugees because asylum seekers whose claims were heard there could face ‘refoulement’ – meaning that genuine refugees could be sent back to their homes. country of origin and potentially experience violence or abuse. treatment there.
December 5, 2023
Britain signs a new treaty with Rwanda.
The government signed a treaty with the Rwandan government that attempted to address the Supreme Court’s concerns. It promised several guarantees for asylum seekers, including assurances that they would not be deported from Rwanda if their claims were rejected.
December 6, 2023
The government introduces the Rwanda Security Bill.
The government has introduced emergency legislation to override the Supreme Court ruling, simply declaring that Rwanda is legally a safe country. The bill would force British courts, immigration officials and the foreign secretary to treat Rwanda as safe for refugees, regardless of any evidence to the contrary.
March 1, 2024
Court of Audit reveals sky-high costs.
The National Audit Office, Britain’s independent watchdog for public spending, has found that the government will have paid Rwanda £370 million by the end of 2024, even though no asylum seekers have yet been sent there.
Costs will rise further once the flights take off: Britain has pledged to pay Rwanda £20,000 for each person sent, plus a further £150,874 per person for processing and operational costs, and £120 million after the first 300 people.
April 2024
The Rwanda Security Bill is expected to become law.
After a prolonged standoff between the unelected House of Lords and the elected House of Commons, Rwanda’s Security Bill is expected to be passed, with the government using its significant majority in the House of Commons to push the bill through. Mr Sunak has promised that flights to Rwanda will leave ‘as soon as possible’.
But all the bickering and expense may have been for naught. Rights groups have pledged to fight deportations in domestic and international courts, and the Labor Party has vowed to scrap the plan if it wins the next general election, expected this fall. The Labor Party has had a significant lead in the polls for more than a year.