UK's House of Lords vote to postpone deportation treaty with Rwanda: summary

What we know

• The unelected House of Lords voted 214 to 171 on January 22, 2024, to postpone the treaty that establishes the framework for the deportation scheme.
• The Lords supported a motion urging the British Parliament to postpone ratifying the agreement until ministers have provided assurances that Rwanda is secure.
• This move comes after the House of Commons narrowly passed the bill on January 17, 2024, after debates from some Conservative Members of Parliament to vote against the government because the law was not strong enough to withstand legal challenges.
• The House of Lords may postpone the law for up to a year, but it lacks the authority to permanently halt the Rwanda Asylum Bill.
• Rwanda signed a joint treaty with the British government on December 5 2023, to be a destination for deporting asylum seekers from the UK.
• The UK Home Office reported in 2022 that the asylum system in the country costs the taxpayers £1.5 billion annually, the highest amount in more than 20 years.
• According to the BBC, Rwanda would get £240 million ($300 million) in cash compensation as part of an agreement with the UK government to relocate asylum seekers.
• The bill is what British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak believes to be the ‘will of the people’ and has vowed to prohibit the unlawful arrival of ‘small boats’ in the UK.

What they said

British Prime Minister Sunak in a public address on the plan to stop ‘the boats’ after MPs voted to pass the Safety of Rwanda Bill said, "It is now time for the Lords to pass this bill. This is an urgent national priority. The treaty with Rwanda is signed, and the legislation which deems Rwanda a safe country has been passed and unamended in our election chamber... We have a plan and the plan is working, last year was the first year the number of small boat arrivals went down. To solve this problem we need a clear and effective deterrent so that people know that if they come here illegally they will be detained and swiftly removed." John Kerr, a former diplomat who sits in the House of Lords is quoted by the Associated Press to have said, “The Rwanda plan was incompatible with our responsibilities under international human rights law. The considerations of international law and national reputation ... convince me that it wouldn’t be right to ratify this treaty at any time.”