UK Parliament's Controversial Plan to Send Migrants to Rwanda
Last month, after months of attempts to pass a bill, the UK parliament announced that they will be sending migrants to Rwanda. On the Gov.uk website, it states:
"UK government efforts to stop the boats and tackle illegal migration took a major step forward, after the Safety of Rwanda Bill completed its passage through Parliament overnight, Monday 22 April."
While the actual plan may kick in very soon, this bill has been controversial for many MPs, as well as some Lords.
The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024
The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 was introduced by the UK government to enable the removal of certain migrants to Rwanda. The key provisions of the Act are:
- It requires decision-makers, including courts and tribunals, to "conclusively treat the Republic of Rwanda as a safe country" for the purposes of removing asylum seekers there. This overrides any other domestic or international law, including the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Refugee Convention.
On the Act
The Act prohibits courts from considering any challenges to removal decisions on the basis that Rwanda is not safe or that the person will not receive fair consideration of their asylum claim there. It disapplies certain provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998 that would otherwise allow courts to scrutinize the safety of Rwanda and the fairness of the asylum process there.
The Act was introduced in response to a 2023 UK Supreme Court ruling that found the government's previous plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful, as Rwanda was not currently a safe country for that purpose. The new Act aims to address the Court's concerns and enable the government's Rwanda asylum partnership policy to proceed.
The Act has been highly controversial, with critics arguing it undermines the rule of law, access to justice, and the UK’s supposed international human rights obligations. The Law Society of England and Wales has been at the forefront of opposing the Act, working with parliamentarians and other organizations to try to amend it.
Rwanda's Economy
Rwanda has been a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 22 May 1996 and is expected to become a middle-income country by 2035.
- Top Exports: Gold, tin ores, coffee, and malt extract. These are mainly exported to the UAE, DRC, Thailand, USA, and Ethiopia.
- Top Imports: Refined petroleum, gold, palm oil, rice, and raw sugar, primarily coming from China, Tanzania, and the UAE.
Despite reduced levels of poverty, the World Bank projects that poverty will fall 2% between 2022-2024, from 47.4% to 45.3%.
What's in it for Rwanda?
- £150,000 will be paid to the Rwandan government for each person sent there.
- £240 million has already been paid, with more expected over a 5-year period.
Unlike other countries in the region, corruption is not rampant in Rwanda, and it ranks as the 3rd least corrupt country in Africa as well as 49th globally. Yet, Rwanda scored 0.548 on the Human Development Index (HDI) in 2023 (Rank: 161/193).
The UK's Refugee Costs
Currently, housing refugees costs the UK government £4 billion a year. You would think that these "intelligent" policymakers would be able to think of ethical and cost-efficient ideas. With the Conservative Party's popularity declining (highlighted by the recent local elections), this sudden, extreme, and expensive policy may simply be an election ploy to bolster support for the ailing Conservatives.
Final Thoughts
It has just been over 30 years since the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi (see Edition 4). The Rwandan government continues to arm rebels against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), yet for some strange reason, this is considered a suitable place to offload vulnerable people.
What about those fleeing from Rwanda and neighboring nations, such as the DRC? How about when Rwandan people get tired of migrants—what happens then?