Bill tabled to help implement UK treaty

The Rwanda Government has proposed changes to the 2014 law on refugees and migrants, including legal provisions that will enable the implementation of a migration treaty signed between Rwanda and the UK in December 2023. The Bill, tabled before Parliament last week, specifies the rights, obligations and assistance of refugees and applicants for refugee status. The New Times says among the gaps in the current law is the lack of provisions needed to implement the UK-Rwanda agreement, according to the Bill’s explanatory note. The law has no provisions about the application for refugee status by a person living lawfully in Rwanda and who is unable to return to his/her country due to the events not allowing him/her to return, it said. While it determines that the Minister in charge of refugees can review an appeal by a person denied refugee status, it does not explain how that should be done. Under the UK-Rwanda treaty –approved by the Rwandan Senate in March –the UK Government wants to send asylum seekers to Rwanda in a bid to stop illegal migration.

However, Britain's upper House of Parliament has again delayed implementation of the UK/Rwanda treaty. The East African reports that the House last week proposed changes that will delay but not block the policy. The House of Lords for a third time sought to make changes to the new legislation after the House of Commons rejected its second set of proposals last Monday. But the move is unlikely to stop the legislation from getting approval this week, meaning it will become law. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hopes to start flights to Rwanda as soon as possible, but the scheme might still be challenged in the courts. The House of Lords voted in favour of four proposals, including an amendment to insist the legislation complies with international law.