UK: Removing human rights laws in Rwanda asylum bill is 'callous and immoral'

In response to the UK government’s new Rwanda asylum bill, Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive, said: 

“The Government’s attempt to remove - or ‘disapply’ in the jargon - fundamental human rights for vulnerable and often traumatised people is callous, immoral and an attack on the basic protections that keep us all safe. 

“People who’ve fled persecution and war in countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and Ethiopia are entitled to seek a place of safety, and they deserve far better than this.  

“The Government’s attempt to bypass a clear ruling from the UK’s highest court that Rwanda is not a safe country for refugees smacks of desperation and marks a new level of lawlessness. 

“Dipping in and out of the Human Rights Act or the European Convention of Human Rights is an outrageous attitude toward both domestic and international human rights law.  

“How can we possibly have faith in ministers to protect any of our rights if such a blatant attempt to flout the rule of law is made an Act of Parliament?  

“We strongly urge Parliament to reject this bill - it breaches international law, plain and simple.”