The controversial government bill that seeks to send asylum seekers to Rwanda has finally secured the legislative backing of the House of Lords and is now only waiting for royal assent.
The UK Upper House had strongly opposed the bill but gave way after the Prime Minister said the government would force Parliament to sit for as long as necessary to get the bill over the line. It had initially demanded several amendments but eventually passed it unconditionally.
Ever since it was proposed as a means to curb the number of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel in small boats, the Rwanda scheme has faced several legal hurdles and criticisms from human rights activists and even the international community.
In June 2022, the first set of deportees were already seated in a jet bound for Kigali before they were deboarded at the last minute after the European Court of Human Rights secured an injunction to stop the flight. The following year, the UK’s highest court ruled that sending asylum seekers on a one-way ticket to Rwanda was illegal and wouldn’t guarantee their safety.
Since 2018, as many as 120,000 people, principally from Africa and the Middle East have found their way to the UK by crossing the English Channel in small boats. Most of them flee from conflicts and poverty and contract human smugglers to help them through. According to the Refugee Council, almost 30,000 asylum seekers crossed the Channel last year.
Despite the bill’s passage, the legal fireworks may not be over as human right experts have suggested that airlines and aviation regulators could be violating international human rights laws if they participate in sending asylum seekers to a country whose human rights record is unsatisfactory.
According to the National Audit Office, a public spending watchdog, it will cost the UK government over 500 million pounds to deport the first set of refugees.
A few other European countries, including Austria and Germany, are already considering towing the UK’s path.
While Sunak hopes the legislation will boost his party’s electoral chances, Labour has said it will do away with the scheme if it takes power and enter talks with the EU to bring the refugees back to Europe.