UN Rights Chief: UK Bill To Send Asylum Seekers To Rwanda “Undercuts Human Rights”

By United Nations Photos: YouTube Screenshots The United Kingdom’s legislative moves to facilitate the prompt removal of asylum seekers to Rwanda run contrary to the basic principles of the rule of law and risk delivering a “serious blow” to human rights, the UN rights chief warned on Monday. “You cannot legislate facts out of existence,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, calling on the UK Government to reconsider the bill in light of recent reports raising a range of concerns. “It is deeply concerning to carve out one group of people, or people in one particular situation, from the equal protection of the law – this is antithetical to even-handed justice, available and accessible to all, without discrimination.” The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill requires every “decision maker”, be it a government minister, immigration office, or court or tribunal reviewing asylum decisions, conclusively to treat Rwanda as a “safe country” in terms of protecting refugees and asylum seekers against refoulement, irrespective of evidence that exists now or may exist in the future, he said. Bill strips courts’ abilities The bill would also drastically strip back the courts’ ability to scrutinize removal decisions. “Settling questions of...