Ahead of the Rwanda Bill returning to Parliament this week, together with JCWI we have produced a submission to the Joint Committee on Human Rights on the Safety of Rwanda Bill.
We strongly urge the Committee to recommend that MPs reject the safety of Rwanda Bill entirely, as it would put lives at risk and violate the UK’s constitutional, international and human rights law obligations.
Among other issues, we have raised concerns about the safety of LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum if they are sent to Rwanda.
Innocent, a gay man from Rwanda who came to the UK 20 years ago, said: “Having experienced the discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ people – or those perceived to be sexual minorities in Rwanda – I am shocked that the UK would deport people from our community there.”
Innocent also said: “On 15 November 2023, I was delighted to learn that the UK’s highest court had ruled that Rwanda was not a safe country to which the government could send people seeking asylum to. The LGBTQIA+ community in Rwanda was ecstatic, we were glad that LGBTQIA+ people seeking asylum were not going to be subjected to the suffering that we have endured and that some of us still living in Rwanda continue to endure.
However, our sense of happiness and relief was quickly diminished when we learned that the British government is prepared to do everything in its power to send people seeking asylum to Rwanda.”
What can you do?
Email your MP to call on them to vote against this cruel bill
Read our full submission to the Joint Committee on Human Rights on the Safety of Rwanda Bill
