ILPA, along with 250 other organisations, has signed the below open letter sent to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak:
Dear Prime Minister,
We write to express our shared outrage at the passage of the misleadingly named ‘Safety of Rwanda Act’. This is a shameful and performatively cruel law that will risk people’s lives and betray who we are as a society.
We all want to be safe – and we want that safety for each other, too. As a country, we are proud to uphold our responsibility to support refugees. Given the chance, communities across our country go the extra mile to welcome those in need. The wider public do not support the Rwanda plan.*
But this law would enable the Government to forcibly expel people seeking asylum – including children and survivors of trafficking and modern slavery – despite concerns they could be put at grave risk of harm and human rights abuses. The Rwanda plan will force people who have fled violence and persecution into detention centres where they may face abuse and mistreatment, with no time limit. They will then be removed to a country to which they have no connection, despite our country’s Supreme Court ruling that it is unsafe for them. Through this law, the Government will put them at grave risk of mental and physical harm, and of being returned to danger in the countries they fled.
Despite the clear ruling from the Supreme Court, the Government is rewriting the facts so they can shirk our responsibilities to refugees. In doing so, the Government would break international law and further shatter the UK’s commitment to justice and the rule of law. While this is a targeted attack on refugees and migrants, an attack on one group’s rights is an attack on all of us.
Outsourcing our asylum system to other countries is never acceptable. It abandons our duty to share in the global responsibility towards those forced to seek safety. Instead of continuing down this dangerous path, the Government must guarantee that asylum claims will be heard fairly on our shores, and open safe routes so that people are not forced to take dangerous journeys.
As organisations working towards a better future for all, we believe in kindness and compassion. The Government must listen to the people, abandon this deplorable deal with Rwanda and similar plans with other countries, and protect those who need sanctuary.
* British Future / Focaldata poll, published 17 March 2024: “Only 24 per cent of the public think the government should try to get the Rwanda Bill through in its current form” (“Less than a quarter of the public back Rwanda Bill in current form, poll finds”, Politics.co.uk, 18 March 2024, available at: https://www.politics.co.uk/news/2024/03/18/less-than-a-quarter-of-the-public-back-rwanda-bill-in-current-form-poll-finds)
1 ACAP (Ashton Churches Asylum Project)
2 Action for Refugees i Lewisham
3 African Rainbow Family
4 After Exploitation
5 Amnesty Mid Gloucestershire Group
6 Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU)
7 Apna Haq
8 Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees (AVID)
9 Asylum Link Merseyside
10 Asylum Matters
11 Asylum Seeker Housing Project
12 Asylum Support Appeals Project
13 Asylum Welcome
14 Bail for Immigration Detainees
15 Baptists Together
16 BARAC UK
17 Barnsley Borough City of Sanctuary
18 BEACON
19 Best for Britain
20 Big Leaf Foundation
21 BIRCH Network
22 Birmingham City of Sanctuary
23 Boaz Trust
24 Bournville Amnesty
25 Bradford City of Sanctuary
26 Bradford Immigration & Asylum Support & Advice Network (BIASAN)
27 Bradford Rape Crisis
28 Bristol Defend the Asylum Seekers Campaign
29 Bristol Law Centre
30 Bristol Refugee Rights
31 Bromsgrove and Redditch Welcome Refugees
32 Bromsgrove Justice and Peace Group
33 Calais Light
34 Calderdale Valley of Sanctuary
35 Cambridge Convoy Refugee Action Group
36 Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign
37 CARAS (Community Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers)
38 Care4Calais
39 Central England Law Centre
40 Children’s Rights Alliance for England, part of Just for Kids Law
41 Choose Love (CIO)
42 Christian Concern for One World
43 Church of Scotland
44 Churches Together in Sandbach
45 Citizens of the World Choir
46 City of Sanctuary Sheffield
47 City of Sanctuary UK
48 Columbans Missionaries in Britain
49 Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ)
50 Community Policy Forum
51 Communityworks
52 Connected Routes CIC
53 Conversations From Calais
54 Coventry Against Racism
55 Coventry Refugee & Migrant Centre
56 Da’aro Youth Project
57 Darlington Assistance for Refugees
58 Detention Action
59 Disability Rights UK
60 Diverse Cymru
61 Doncaster Conversation Club
62 Durham City of Sanctuary
63 EachOther
64 Ecojustice Ireland
65 End Violence Against Women Coalition
66 Entraide UK
67 Equally Ours
68 Fair Vote UK
69 Fair Way Scotland
70 Faith Network for Manchester
71 Fatima House
72 Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX)
73 FODI
74 forRefugees
75 Freedom from Torture
76 Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland
77 Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group
78 Global Link
79 Good Chance Theatre
80 Govan Community Project
81 Gower College Swansea
82 Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit
83 Hackney Stand Up to Racism
84 Haringey Migrant Support Centre
85 Haringey Welcome
86 Hastings Community of Sanctuary
87 Hastings Supports Refugees
88 HBTSR (Hay Brecon amd Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees)
89 Heanor Baptist Church
90 Helen Bamber Foundation
91 Herts for Refugees
92 Hexham Amnesty
93 HIAS+JCORE
94 Hope and Aid Direct
95 Hope Projects
96 House of Rainbow CIC
97 Human Rights Consortium Scotland
98 Human Rights Lawyer
99 Human Rights Watch
100 Humanists UK
101 Humans for Rights Network
102 Ice and Fire Theatre Company
103 IMIX
104 Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA)
105 Inclusion North CIC
106 INQUEST
107 Interfaith Scotland
108 Iraqi Association
109 Jesuit Refugee Service UK
110 Just Fair
111 Just Futures Research Centre, University of Huddersfield
112 JustRight Scotland
113 KRAN
114 Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS)
115 Law Centres Network
116 Leeds Anti Raids Action
117 Leeds Asylum Seekers Support Network
118 Leeds Refugee Forum
119 Legal Aid Practitioners Group
120 Leicester City of Sanctuary
121 Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network (LRMN)
122 Liberty
123 Lifeline Options CIC
124 Louth Churches for Refugees
125 Mafwa Theatre CIC
126 Manchester City of Sanctuary
127 Manchester Migrant Solidarity
128 MAP Middlesbrough
129 Mary Thompson Fund
130 Medact
131 Medical Justice
132 Mermaids
133 Merseyside Solidarity Knows No Borders
134 METRO Charity
135 Metropolitan Community Church of North London (MCCNL)
136 Micro Rainbow
137 Migrant Champions Network
138 Migrant Voice
139 Migrants’ Rights Network
140 Migration Policy and Practice
141 Music Action International
142 NACCOM
143 New Citizens’ Gateway
144 New Europeans UK
145 NIARA
146 No To Hassockfield
147 North Wales Regional Equality Network
148 Nottingham & Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum (NNRF)
149 Oasis Church
150 Oldham Unity Destitution Project
151 One Community Link
152 One Life To Live
153 One Roof Leicester
154 Open Rights Group
155 Our Second Home
156 Out In The City
157 Oxfam GB
158 PAFRAS
159 Peace of Mind CIO
160 Pendle New Neighbours
161 People & Planet
162 PERN (Penrith and Eden Refugee Network)
163 Plan International UK
164 POMOC
165 Positive Action For Refugees and Asylum Seekers (PAFRAS)
166 Praxis
167 Public Interest Litigation Support Project
168 Public Law Project
169 Quakers in Britain
170 Race Equality Network
171 Rainbow Home
172 Rainbow Migration
173 RAIS (Refugee Advocacy, Information, and Support)
174 Reach Group, Huddersfield
175 Reclaim the Agenda
176 Refugee Action
177 Refugee and Migrant Centre (West Midlands)
178 Refugee Council
179 Refugee Futures
180 Refugee Legal Support (RLS)
181 Refugee Support Group
182 Refugee Welcome Homes CIC
183 Refugee Women Connect
184 Refugee Youth Service
185 Refugees & Mentors CIC
186 Refugees at Home
187 Rene Cassin, the Jewish Voice for Human Rights
188 Restore, a project of Birmingham Churches Together
189 Right to Remain
190 Roman Catholic Diocese of Northampton
191 Room to Heal
192 Safe Passage International
193 Scotswood Garden
194 Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees
195 Scottish Refugee Council
196 Settle Area Refugee Support group
197 Six Ways Baptist Church
198 Six Ways Erdington Baptist Church
199 Skipton Refugee Support Group
200 Social Equity Centre
201 South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group (SYMAAG)
202 South Yorkshire Refugee Law & Justice
203 Southall Black Sisters
204 Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group
205 Southeast and East Asian Centre (SEEAC)
206 Southeast and east Asian Women’s Association
207 St Paul’s Church, Birmingham
208 St Vincent de Paul RC Church (Liverpool) Justice & Peace Group
209 St Vincent Newcastle (St Vincent de Paul Society England & Wales)
210 Stand and Be Counted Theatre
211 Stand For All
212 Stories of Hope and Home
213 Street Talk
214 Stroud District Together With Refugees
215 Student Action for Refugees (STAR)
216 Swansea Asylum Seeker Support (SASS)
217 Swansea Women’s Asylum and Refugee Support Group
218 Tees Valley of Sanctuary
219 The Ark Synagogue
220 The Comfrey Project
221 The Gomes Brothers
222 The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI)
223 The Launchpad Collective
224 The Methodist Church
225 The Pickwell Foundation
226 The Snowdrop Project
227 The United Reformed Church
228 The VOICES Network
229 The William Gomes Podcast
230 These Walls Must Fall
231 Together with Migrant Children
232 UK Must Act
233 Unicorn Theatre
234 Unite NW522
235 United Reformed Church, Wythenshawe
236 Vauxhall Law Centre
237 Voices in Exile
238 Voices Without Borders
239 Waging Peace
240 Walking With
241 We Are Survivors
242 We Belong
243 Welcome Group Halesowen
244 Welsh Centre for International Affairs
245 Welsh Refugee Council
246 West London Welcome
247 Wolverhampton City of Sanctuary
248 Women for Refugee Women
249 Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom
250 Women’s Support Project (Rights & Choices)
251 Young Roots