James Cleverly says new Rwanda asylum treaty addresses Supreme Court concerns

The Home Secretary says a new treaty with Rwanda addresses the concerns of the UK Supreme Court, which last month ruled the government’s plan was unlawful.

The court said the policy, which required sending migrants to Rwanda, was open to human rights violations.

James Cleverly insisted that Rwanda had made a “clear and unequivocal commitment to the safety of the people who come here”.

This policy is part of the government’s plan to discourage migrants from crossing the channel in small boats.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said “stopping the boats” is one of his government’s five key priorities ahead of the next general election.

But the plan for Rwanda, first announced by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in April 2022, has been repeatedly delayed due to legal challenges and no asylum seekers have yet been sent to the country.

The Labor Party has also pledged to scrap the policy if it wins the next election, casting doubt on its long-term future.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said this policy was a “failure” and funds allocated to it would be better spent “chasing” gangs organizing small boat crossings.

The Supreme Court, the UK’s highest court, rejected the policy on the grounds that the Rwandan government could not be guaranteed to respect a principle of international law known as non-refoulement.

This principle prevents the State receiving asylum seekers from returning them to any country if doing so would expose them to the risk of harm.

After the ruling, Sunak said his government would work to conclude a new treaty with Rwanda and said he would introduce emergency legislation to ensure the country is safe.

The legislation is expected to be introduced in Parliament this week.

He smartly traveled to Kigali and signed the new legally binding treaty with Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta on Tuesday.

He is the third Home Secretary to arrive in Rwanda, following in the footsteps of his predecessors Priti Patel and Suella Braverman.

The British government says the new treaty ensures that people transferred to Rwanda do not risk being returned to a country where their lives or freedom would be threatened.

The treaty establishes a new appeals body, which will be made up of experienced asylum judges from several countries, to hear individual cases.

The government says Rwanda’s asylum system will be monitored by an independent commission and its powers to implement the treaty will be strengthened.

The government says the monitoring committee will put in place a system that will allow transferred people and their lawyers to file complaints.

At a press conference, Cleverly insisted that Rwanda was a safe country, saying: “We firmly believe that this treaty addresses all issues related to its sovereignty in the Supreme Court.”

He said this “will soon be reflected in local legislation.”

A Rwandan government spokesperson said it had a “proven track record” in providing a home for refugees and that the new treaty would “reaffirm, in a binding manner, existing obligations” on the protection of asylum seekers.

The asylum policy has already cost the UK government at least £140 million, but Cleverly said the UK had not paid Rwanda any additional money for the new treaty.

The Interior Minister said he saw “no reasonable reason” to question Rwanda’s “record” in handling asylum cases, and expressed hope that the plan would be implemented “as quickly as possible.”

She said Rwanda had a “strong reputation” for being humanitarian and was “uncomfortable” with the “tone” of criticism directed at Rwanda.

Rwanda’s Foreign Minister suggested that “domestic politics in the UK” may have contributed to obstructing the asylum policy.

But Biruta said: “I would say there is always room for improvement in any human-designed system, whether Rwandan or British.

“That’s why we are working on this treaty… to make sure that we can improve our asylum system and that we have a fair and transparent asylum system.”

Conservative MPs from his party are putting pressure on Sunak to stop migrant boat crossings.

More than 45,700 people crossed the English Channel to reach the UK in 2022, the highest number since records began.

In the coming days, the government will introduce new legislation to try to prevent further legal challenges to its plan in Rwanda.

The One Nation group of Conservative MPs has raised concerns about the legislation and fears it may attempt to ignore UK and international human rights law.

Some Conservative MPs say the UK’s withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights, an international treaty, would prevent the Rwanda plan from being derailed by legal challenges.

But Conservative MP Damian Green said Conservatives like him “appreciate these treaties and they should be seen as an essential part of protecting the UK’s democratic legacy”.

The UK government is also facing calls to reduce net migration, which has risen to a record 745,000 in 2022.

The Conservatives have repeatedly promised to reduce net migration since coming to power in 2010 and to “take back control” of the UK’s borders after the Brexit vote.

The Home Secretary announced a package of measures on Monday including increasing the minimum wage requirement for overseas skilled workers from £26,200 to £38,700.

Cleverly claimed that 300,000 people who were eligible to come to the UK last year would not be able to do so in the future.