The passage of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s bill to deport refugees to Rwanda has hit a snag. The upper house of parliament defeated the government and reinstated demands for greater protection.
The legislation, which aims to relocate asylum seekers arriving in Britain via small boats to Rwanda, faces delays as the House of Lords voted to amend it to include more safeguards for asylum seekers’ rights.
Sunak’s government sees this bill as crucial in its efforts to curb the influx of asylum seekers and hopes that deportation flights to Rwanda will bolster the Conservative Party‘s position, particularly as the following election approaches. However, legal challenges have hindered the implementation of the policy thus far.
The amendments approved by the House of Lords include provisions requiring ministers to consider domestic and international law and establish a treaty with Rwanda before declaring it a safe country for asylum seekers. This defeat for the government means that the bill will now return to the House of Commons for further consideration.
The parliamentary ping-pong between the two chambers is expected to delay the bill’s passage until after the Easter break, potentially pushing back the commencement of deportation flights. Once the legislation is enacted, organizing such flights is expected to take at least a month.
Sunak’s government aims to address previous legal challenges by passing a bill designating Rwanda as a safe country for asylum seekers and suspending certain aspects of human rights law to prevent further legal obstacles.
