Immigration is a hot topic that continues to make headlines in the UK. Today we’re looking at the British government’s controversial plan to send migrants to Rwanda. The plan will be discussed in Parliament today, testing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s authority just months before the general election.
Since coming to power in October 2022, Prime Minister Sunak has pledged to reduce record levels of regular and irregular immigration. The Rwanda Security (Asylum and Immigration) Bill is therefore critical to delivering on this promise.
However, this legislation has reignited divisions within the ruling Conservative Party, between right-wing conservatives and moderates. This means Rishi Sunak will have to fight to get this law passed.
The bill is Sunak’s response to a unanimous ruling by the UK Supreme Court last November, which ruled that the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda is illegal under international law.
It would force judges to consider Rwanda a safe third country and proposes giving British ministers powers to override parts of international and British human rights law.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reiterated this week that this legislation and the recently signed treaty with Kigali, designating Rwanda as a “safe” country, were “not compatible” with international law on the refugees.
Furthermore, this bill has triggered deep divisions within the Conservative Party, as was the case during the Brexit debates.
Last month, Sunak successfully faced down his party’s rebels and narrowly won a parliamentary vote on legislation relating to Rwanda. He will have to do it again, during a vote scheduled for Wednesday evening.
First, from today, MPs will debate a series of amendments to the legislation. These amendments are unlikely to pass, but it will reveal the scale of opposition Rishi Sunak faces.
More than 50 Conservative MPs have publicly backed right-wing amendments aimed at toughening the bill, including ignoring international law and limiting the rights of asylum seekers to appeal against their deportation.
They include two party vice-presidents, who are testing Sunak’s sense of discipline, with some even calling for them to be removed from office.
If the British prime minister gives in to the demands of the right-wing Conservatives, the bill would almost certainly be blocked by the party’s centrists, who oppose any violation of international law and believe the current legislation is already at the limit.
Sunak said on Monday he was “speaking to all my colleagues” and was “determined to get this new legislation passed so we can deliver on our plan for Rwanda”.
“I am convinced that the bill that we have is the strictest that anyone has ever seen and it will solve this problem once and for all,” he told reporters.
Sunak says the law is essential to deter migrants from considering traveling to the UK by unauthorized routes, including small boat crossings from France.
Around 30,000 asylum seekers crossed the Channel on crude boats last year. Five people died attempting the crossing last weekend.
Sunak has not yet announced the date of the UK’s next general election, but has said it will be held this year.
According to some polls, the main opposition Labor party is credited with a lead of more than 20 points over the Conservatives, which suggests a crushing defeat for the ruling party.
© Agence France-Presse