Safety of Rwanda Bill is ‘Shameful’ says WRC CEO Andrea Cleaver

We all agree that the UK needs an efficient, functioning asylum system that does not waste taxpayers’ money. The current system is already ineffective, dysfunctional, and expensive, a situation that will become much worse under the Safety of Rwanda Bill.

We are immensely dismayed by last night’s vote on this shameful piece of legislation and by the UK Government’s inhumane stance against sanctuary seekers. The legislation does not address any of the serious grievances raised by last autumn’s Supreme Court ruling. Instead, the Bill removes the ability for the courts to properly scrutinise the process of removing people to Rwanda. This lack of transparency is alarming, anti-democratic, and will almost certainly result in more trauma. suffering and abuse.

Nobody has seen any evidence from the UK Government that the Rwanda Bill will dissuade people from making dangerous journeys across the Channel in small boats. It is a cruel irony that the morning after the Prime Minister’s government was smugly congratulating itself on its “win”,  we woke up to the news that several more people are feared to have died in a desperate attempt to cross from France to the UK.

Once more, we highlight the need for a more humane, efficient asylum system, one that treats people with dignity and respect. We call on the UK Government to expand its resettlement routes. Asylum seekers must be allowed to travel here safely and have their cases heard within reasonable timeframes, so they can get on with their lives. Shipping people off at enormous expense to a dubious third party for unaccountable processing is not the answer.

Andrea Cleaver
CEO Welsh Refugee Council

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