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| Press Release – for immediate release 23 April 2024 Rwanda Bill’s passing marked by more deaths in the Channel as campaigners vow, “We helped stop one Rwanda flight and will work tirelessly to do it again” Anti racists and refugee and human rights campaigners are vowing to mobilise mass opposition and mount a broad campaign that will fight to stop flights taking off to deport refugees seeking asylum to offshore detention in Rwanda. Stand Up To Racism and Care4Calais are calling all those who oppose the government’s widely condemned policy to join the campaign, in light of the Rwanda Bill finally passing through Parliament on Monday night. More deaths in the Channel were reported just hours later. At the last attempt by the government to get deportation flights to Rwanda off the ground, mass campaigning, from crucial legal challenges, national days of protest, direct action, and widespread opposition reflected in trending social media campaigns were all part of stopping the flights. A coalition of anti celebrities and politicians, anti racist organisations, trade unions and the TUC, Care4Calais, Refugee Council, Amnesty International and others came together to say #StopRwanda deportations and offshore detention. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is now pledging to get flights taking off in 10-12 weeks, while the government’s illegal migration minister Michael Tomlinson’s response to the deaths of five more people in the Channel, including a child, was to say that the “deterrent will kick in” when flights are off the ground. The passing of the Rwanda Bill, after a long period of flitting back and forth between the Commons and the Lords where it met with opposition and amendments, comes as part of a raft of legislation that is in breach of internationally recognised human rights. From the Nationality and Borders Act to the Illegal Migration Act, the government has acted profoundly to criminalise the vast majority of those who are driven to exercise their human right to seek asylum. It now faces calls from the UN and Council of Europe to reverse the Rwanda Bill. Campaigners insist that the fight to oppose the Rwanda plan must go hand in hand with the demand for Safe Passage Now. For the vast majority of those seeking asylum, safe and legal routes do not exist. Sabby Dhalu, Stand up to Racism co-convenor said: “The passing of this bill does not make Rwanda safe and won’t stop the boats. It illustrates a weak government desperate to stir up racism before a general election. “Asylum seekers from Rwanda are being granted asylum in Britain precisely because it’s not safe. 5,000 people crossed the Channel this year, but there are only 300 places in Rwanda. Half a billion pounds has been spent on this disastrous policy. “We pledge to fight this costly, unworkable, racist attack on human rights. The only viable solution is to implement safe routes for asylum seekers as for Ukrainian refugees.” Steve Smith, CEO of Care4Calais, said: “This is a dark day in British political history now that the Government has officially overridden the judgement of the UK’s Supreme Court that Rwanda is not a safe country to send refugees. “Make no mistake, Rwanda is not a safe country for any person seeking asylum, as our own Supreme Court made explicitly clear. This Act does nothing to offer protection or safety to people who have experienced the most unimaginable horrors such as torture and modern slavery. In fact, Government MP’s shamefully voted down amendments from the House of Lords that would have exempted the victims of modern slavery from forced removal to Rwanda. “Today there will be real fear in the communities we support. They can be assured however that Care4Calais will not only stand in solidarity with them, we are absolutely committed to fighting for their safety here in the UK. “We helped stop one Rwanda flight, and we will work tirelessly to do it again.” Weyman Bennett, Stand Up To Racism co convenor, said: “The Rwanda plan has always been about the dog whistle politics of whipping up scapegoating, racism and division. It is no surprise that Sunak’s moment to push the Rwanda Bill through Parliament comes just nine days ahead of the council elections. “With the general election looming, and the government mired in crises, tensions and splits, make no mistake – racism and the politics of the gutter will be a central plank of its election campaign and will only intensify. “The Rwanda offshore detention policy is a centrepiece of this agenda – appealing to the politics of hate and blaming refugees and migrants for the failures of the government – in the wake of the pandemic, amidst a cost of living crisis, a housing crisis, a crisis in the NHS and services, and low pay. “Sunak and his ministers are determined, and have no qualms about the fire they play with. Across Britain, a weak but emboldened far right and motley crew of fascist groups and individuals are persistently mobilising with the aim of growing in the toxic environment the government is creating. Racist, far right and fascists have targeted refugee accommodation, and look to use the racist climate around the election to establish bases in our communities. “We only have to look to the terrible prospects of fascist gains across European elections, the growth of an international far right and the likely event of Trump back in the White House, to see the real dangers of emboldening the far right and intensifying racist scapegoating. “The Rwanda plan is cruel, inhumane, and racist to its core. Now the anti racist movement must organise immediately to make it unworkable, with a broad, united and mass campaign. That is what we will be doing from today – watch this space.” For further information & interviews please contact: SUTR OFFICE: info@standuptoracism.org.uk |
