Every month for the last 10 months, refugees and asylum-seekers have died trying to get into the UK. Desperate to escape existential dangers — crippling poverty, political persecution, war and climate change — the refugees are preyed on by agents and make the journey across the treacherous waters of the English Channel on small boats. Hours after the Rishi Sunak government’s Rwanda Bill was passed by the British parliament, five people including one child died on such a crossing. PM Sunak said “[The incident] is just a reminder of why my plan is so important… We want to prevent people making these very dangerous crossings.” There is little doubt that the UK, like much of the developed world, is facing an influx of undocumented migrants. So far this year, the number of people trying to make it into the country has grown by 25 per cent over the same period last year. However, there is a cruel irony in using the suffering of those who will be worst affected by the law to defend it.
The Bill has its origins in a policy formulated by former PM Boris Johnson in 2022, under which the UK government could deport some asylum-seekers to Rwanda, where they will be assessed for permanent resettlement. The British government has reportedly paid close to 300 million pounds to the Rwandan government for this scheme. The UK supreme court, however, struck down the policy in light of Rwanda’s poor human rights record. The Safety of Rwanda Bill is meant to address “the Court’s concerns and will allow Parliament to confirm the status of the Republic of Rwanda as a safe third country”. The UNHCR has asserted that “Such arrangements…are contrary to the letter and spirit of the Refugee Convention.”
