SENIOR United Nations figures have urged Rishi Sunak to reconsider his Rwanda scheme for asylum seekers.
It comes after the UK Government’s bill finally passed after months of back and forth between the Commons and the Lords.
The House of Lords had been engaged in an extended debate over the legislation on Monday, although it has now been passed with Sunak saying “nothing will stand” in the way of getting flights off the ground.
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Speaking after the bill had passed, the UN high commissioner for refugees Filippo Grandi said: “The new legislation marks a further step away from the UK’s long tradition of providing refuge to those in need, in breach of the Refugee Convention.
“Protecting refugees requires all countries – not just those neighbouring crisis zones – to uphold their obligations.
“This arrangement seeks to shift responsibility for refugee protection, undermining international cooperation and setting a worrying global precedent.”
Elsewhere, the UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk also called on Sunak to reconsider his plans.
“By shifting responsibility for refugees, reducing the UK’s courts’ ability to scrutinise removal decisions, restricting access to legal remedies in the UK and limiting the scope of domestic and international human rights protections for a specific group of people, this new legislation seriously hinders the rule of law in the UK and sets a perilous precedent globally,” he said.
“It is critical to the protection of the human rights and dignity of refugees and migrants seeking protection that all removals from the UK are carried out after assessing their specific individual circumstances in strict compliance with international human rights and refugee law.”
As well as the UN, an open letter to the Prime Minister has been signed by over 250 organisations from across civil society in the UK.
Oxfam GB, Human Rights Watch and the Refugee Council are among those to sign the letter which describes the new legislation as a “shameful and performatively cruel law that will risk people’s lives”.
Director of Detention Action, another organisation to have put its name to the letter, James Wilson said: “With this act, this Government has turned its back on reality, as well as on our responsibility to protect refugees.
“People seeking asylum here should have their claims heard in the UK, fairly and efficiently, so they are not returned to danger and can, instead, rebuild their lives in our communities.”
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