René Cassin, a leading Jewish human rights organization, has expressed concerns about the Safety of Rwanda Bill and has urged the Lord Chancellor, Alex Chalk KC MP, to ensure that the legislation is in compliance with both UK and international law. This plea comes as MPs prepare to debate a series of amendments made to the Bill during its discussion in the House of Lords last week.
During the debate, peers from all political parties voiced serious concerns about the Bill and approved ten amendments in an effort to mitigate its potential negative effects. Conservative Lord Tugendhat stated, “…in this Bill, the Government is seeking to achieve by Act of Parliament what in Nineteen Eighty-Four the ruling party and its apparatchiks sought to achieve by torture.” Meanwhile, his colleague Viscount Hailsham warned, “…we will be doing something that is in principle profoundly wrong in support of a policy that is going nowhere.”
Mia Hasenson-Gross, Executive Director of René Cassin, expressed her concerns about the Bill, stating, “The Safety of Rwanda Bill takes a sledgehammer to the rule of law. One Conservative peer called it ‘profoundly wrong’. Another likened the Government to the ruling party in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four.” Hasenson-Gross also emphasized the importance of the rule of law in promoting social cohesion and protecting minority rights, saying, “At a time when social divisions are strained and minorities feel insecure and threatened, the rule of law provides stable and reassuring ballast. It is a vital part of a set of common values around which we can all unite.”
René Cassin urges the Lord Chancellor to ensure that MPs take into account these concerns when they debate the Bill on Monday. In a letter addressed to Lord Chancellor Chalk, Hasenson-Gross stated, “The Safety of Rwanda Bill and the rule of law. On 24 May 2023, you took the Lord Chancellor’s Oath to ‘respect the rule of law’. Speaking afterwards at the Royal Courts of Justice you underlined that pledge by saying ‘…the rule of law, access to justice, independence of the judiciary…aren’t quaint, airy notions to pay lip-service to – but the essential building blocks of a safe, fair and prosperous society’.”
The Safety of Rwanda Bill will return to the House of Commons on March 18, where MPs will consider the amendments made by the House of Lords. René Cassin urges the Lord Chancellor to ensure that the final legislation is fully compliant with domestic and international law, either by adopting Lords amendments or by other means. Failure to do so, according to Hasenson-Gross, would show contempt for the rule of law.
For further information or comment, please contact Mia Hasenson-Gross at mia.hasenson-gross@renecassin.org or 07939 130 286.
Notes for editors:
– The Safety of Rwanda Bill was debated at Report Stage (4 and 6 March) and passed 3rd Reading (12 March) in the House of Lords. The Bill will return to the House of Commons on the afternoon of Monday 18 March, where MPs will consider Lords amendments. The Bill is expected to enter into Parliamentary ‘ping-pong’ on Wednesday 20 March.
– The Lord Chancellor’s Oath states, “I, [NAME], do swear that in the office of Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain I will respect the rule of law, defend the independence of the judiciary and discharge my duty to ensure the provision of resources for the efficient and effective support of the courts for which I am responsible. So help me God.”
– In a speech after being sworn in as Lord Chancellor on May 24, 2023, Alex Chalk KC MP stated, “…the rule of law, access to justice, independence of the judiciary…aren’t quaint, airy notions to pay lip-service to – but the essential building blocks of a safe, fair and prosperous society.”
– Quotes from Conservative Lords: Lord Tugendhat – https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2024-03-04/debates/525F3E62-A481-4C81-BB49-69BE8525B763/SafetyOfRwanda(AsylumAndImmigration)Bill (column 1336) Viscount Hailsham – https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2024-03-06/debates/4475C1E4-2C43-44B0-B087-0DDA3ADD222F/SafetyOfRwanda(AsylumAndImmigration)Bill (column 1565)
– For a detailed critique of the Safety of Rwanda Bill, please see The Lord’s Constitution Committee report Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill report (9 February 2024) – https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld
