On 19 July 2022, the APPG held a meeting to discuss the government’s controversial new asylum deal known as the “Rwanda policy”.
Under the policy, people seeking asylum in the UK may now be removed to Rwanda to claim asylum there instead. They will not able to return to the UK.
Over 100 people were selected by the Home Office to be on the first removal flight to Kigali, scheduled for mid-June 2022. All were held in immigration detention when selected, and by the time of the APPG’s meeting, many remained detained, despite the flight’s cancellation and ongoing legal challenges.
A panel of expert speakers, all closely involved in work relating to the Rwanda policy, spoke at the meeting:
- Larry Bottinick – Representative Ad Interim, UNHCR. UNHCR has issued an key legal analysis of the Rwanda policy and is serving as an intervenor in current litigation on the policy
- Andrew Leak – Senior Protection Associate, UNHCR
- Adam Milton – Solicitor and Senior Caseworker, Asylum Aid. Asylum Aid is representing several individuals facing removal to Rwanda , and is also a claimant in one of the legal cases challenging the policy
- Theresa Schleicher – Casework Manager, Medical Justice. Medical Justice are working with many of the individuals facing removal to Rwanda, including by providing health assessments and preparing medical-legal reports. They have issued an important report detailing how the health and well-being of their clients has been impacted.
The speakers highlighted many serious concerns about the policy, including the fact that vulnerable people – such as age-disputed children and those with histories of torture, trafficking and serious mental conditions – were amongst those selected for the flight; the extremely damaging effects of the policy on people’s mental health and well-being; and deficiencies in the procedures used by the Home Office which meant people selected were being denied a fair opportunity to make their case to stay in the UK.
Over 60 guests attended the meeting – including parliamentarians, experts-by-experience, lawyers, medical practitioners, and NGOs representatives.
Minutes from the meeting will be available in due course, along with a full video recording of the session.