UK Parliament passed bill to send asylum seekers to Rwanda

Posted 24 Apr 2024

2 min read

UK Parliament passed the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill which will give Britain's immigration authorities power to send any asylum seeker entering the UK "illegally" after January 2022 to Rwanda.
- It will apply to anyone who arrives in UK without prior permission, even if their aim is to claim asylum on legitimate grounds.

Ethical issues with the Bill
- Violation of rule of law: Override any laws preventing a migrant identified for removal from being deported, and compel courts and tribunals to treat Rwanda as a "safe country".
- Inhumane treatment: Amnesty International and other groups have criticized Rwanda's human rights record, alleging instances of ill-treatment of dissidents, journalists, and refugees.
- Violation of the principle of non-refoulement: This is a core principle of international refugee law which prohibits transfer of refugees to a country where they may face persecution or danger.

The 1951 Refugee Convention
- Convention, along with its 1967 protocol, is one of the key legal instruments governing refugee protection with non-refoulement as its core principle.
- With 149 State parties to either (Convention and Protocol) or both, they outline refugees’ rights and States’ legal obligations to protect them.

India is not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol and does not have a national refugee protection framework.
However, India continues to grant asylum to a large number of refugees from neighboring States and respects UNHCR's mandate for other nationals, mainly from Afghanistan and Myanmar.
It conducts refugee status determination (RSD) for asylum-seekers from non-neighboring countries before grant of asylum.

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