Rwanda bill ‘inconsistent’ with ECHR, says parliament’s joint committee on human rights
Parliament’s joint committee on human rights, which is cross-party and chaired by Labour’s Harriet Harman, has published its own briefing on the human rights concerns raised by the Rwanda bill. (It is described as the “chair’s briefing paper”, but the press release implies its a briefing from the whole committee.)
The briefing argues that the bill is “inconsistent” with the European convention on human rights. It says:
The bill would require all domestic courts to accept that Rwanda is safe and not to consider any review or appeal brought on the grounds that it is not – even if there is compelling evidence in support. This raises difficult constitutional questions about the separation of powers and the rule of law. It would prevent the courts considering arguable claims that removal to Rwanda is unsafe, which would expose individuals to a risk of their fundamental rights not to be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment being violated, and is inconsistent with the right to an effective remedy guaranteed under article 13 ECHR [European convention on human rights].
The requirement that all decision-makers conclusively treat Rwanda as safe applies notwithstanding laws including key provisions of the Human Rights Act. This would permit public authorities to act incompatibly with convention rights, which would be inconsistent with the UK’s obligations under the ECHR. Disapplying the HRA in respect of a particular cohort runs contrary to the fundamental principle that human rights are universal.
While the bill can alter domestic law, parliament cannot legislate away the UK’s obligations in international law including the prohibition on refoulement under the Refugee Convention and the ECHR. Under the ECHR, any individual who is selected for removal to Rwanda is able to make an application to the European court of human rights (ECtHR) and the UK will be bound by that court’s judgment.
The ECtHR has the power to issue interim measures, effectively an order requiring states to refrain from taking certain action while a human rights claim is considered. They have done so previously, preventing the initial flights to Rwanda. The bill would provide that a minister, and only a minister, may choose whether or not to comply with interim measures. Since interim measures have been held to be binding under the ECHR, this provision purports to permit a minister to act in breach of international law.
The public law professor Mark Elliott has a good thread on X about the report. It starts here.
Key events
Sunak must call general election if he loses Rwanda bill vote, says Starmer
Q: If the Rwanda bill does pass, how quickly would you repeal it? And if you are in power, will you guarantee not to send anyone to Rwanda.
Starmer says he thinks the bill will go through tonight. The PM has an 80-seat majority. He says they should not allow the PM the indulgence of thinking it will be tight, and giving him credit if it wins.
(Starmer is wrong. Boris Johnson had an 80-seat majority after the 2019 general election, but byelection defeat have reduced it considerably. The Commons website says the government currently has a working majority of 56.)
He says he does not know what will happen to the bill after that.
But, if Labour wins the election, it will focus on a more effective way of dealing with the problem.
If the PM does lose, “of course he should call a general election”, he says.
And that is the end of the Q&A.
Asylum seeker on Bibby Stockholm barge dies
This is what PA Media has filed on the death of an asylum seeker on the Bibby Stockholm barge.
An asylum seeker on board the Bibby Stockholm asylum barge has died, the PA news agency understands.
The first asylum seekers were brought back to the giant vessel, moored in Portland, Dorset, in October, some two months after it was evacuated following the discovery of Legionella bacteria in the water supply.
Further details of the incident are yet to be confirmed.
Q: In your speech you implied Labour was on the wrong track under Ed Miliband. In that case, why is he serving in your shadow cabinet?
Starmer says Miliband is a very good member of his shadow cabinet. But he was making the point that Labour’s problems did not start with Jeremy Corbyn, he says. They have lost four elections in a row.
Q: Not a single graduate of Labour’s Bernie Grant leadership scheme has been selected as a candidate for the party. Is Labour enough on diversity?
Starmer says the Bernie Grant scheme is a good one. He says not all selections have finished, but he says the party always needs to do more to promote diversity.
Q: We have just heard an asylum seeker on the Bibby Stockholm has died. What is your reaction?
Starmer says he is not aware of the story, but he expresses concern about the news.
Q: Do you think a Rwanda-style scheme, sending people abroad and saying they cannot return, is immoral?
Starmer says he does not think it will work. He says it is very expensive, and the wrong thing to do.
Q: Are you just opposed to sending asylum seekers to Rwanda? Or are you against the principle of processiong asylum seekers in third countries altogether? Other countries are considering those plans.
Starmer says the Rwanda scheme will not work. He says other countries process asylum seekers somewhere else, normally on the way to the country. He says he would consider any scheme that might work. But he says the Rwanda scheme is not like those schemes. It is a straightforward deportation scheme, he says.
Q: You did not make stopping the boats one of your five priorities. So voters will conclude you are not serious about this issue, won’t they?
Starmer does not accept that. He says securing the borders is an essential task for government. It is fundamental, he says. He says the five missions are about how he wants to change the UK.
Q: Will you really write off the £240m spent on the Rwanda scheme?
Starmer says that money has already been spent. It has been wasted. Rwanda saw us coming, he says.
Q: You talked about changing Labour. At what point did you realise it was on the wrong track under Jeremy Corbyn.
Starmer says he did not vote for Corbyn in 2015 or in 2016. But, in the Brexit crisis, he felt he had a responsibility to serve the party as Brexit spokesperson.
But he says Corbyn will not be a Labour candidate again. That shows how much the party has changed.
Q: Do you think you can stop the boats. Or do you think that is an impractical promise?
Starmer says he does really want to stop the boats.
Keir Starmer is now taking questions at the end of his speech.
Q: Are you opposed to the Rwanda bill because you think it won’t work, or is it because you think the bill is immoral?
Starmer says Labour is voting against it for a number of reasons: it won’t work, it will cost a fortune, and it is against Labour values.
But that does not mean he does not want to stop the boats, he says. He does.
Steven Swinford from the Times has been tweeting on the latest on the potential Tory revolt over the Rwanda bill.
Tories on the right have been doing the numbers on this evening’s vote and early indications suggest they don’t have the numbers
Senior Tory MP: ‘Some of our colleagues have deluded themselves into thinking the govt will make the necessary changes at report stage. They won’t’
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) December 12, 2023
Tories on the right have been doing the numbers on this evening’s vote and early indications suggest they don’t have the numbers. Senior Tory MP: ‘Some of our colleagues have deluded themselves into thinking the govt will make the necessary changes at report stage. They won’t’
Inside Rishi Sunak’s No 10 breakfast with Tory right-wingers:
* Danny Kruger opened – he told the PM he had 3 options. Pull the bill, commit to making amendments in unequivocal terms from despatch box or refuse to make changes & people will vote against
* Rishi Sunak said he…
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) December 12, 2023
Inside Rishi Sunak’s No 10 breakfast with Tory right-wingers:
* Danny Kruger opened – he told the PM he had 3 options. Pull the bill, commit to making amendments in unequivocal terms from despatch box or refuse to make changes & people will vote against
* Rishi Sunak said he wouldn’t pull bill but said he would consider ‘tightening it up’
* Sunak said he had ‘inherited’ high levels of legal migration & small boats issues – this irked some of those present
* Jonathan Gullis said he & colleagues had heard nothing from whips office or home sec. Said it felt like no-one cared about their view
* Marco Longhi said there had been no meaningful engagement before publication of bill
* Nick Fletcher said govt needs to be more Tory and stop being socialists. The PM said he’s a Tory, highlighted tax cuts
* Some already swayed by PM’s offer to consider amendments – others think it’s not serious
* PM, Will Tanner, Rupert Yorke & Craig Williams in room for govt – no sign of chief whip
David Cameron’s hearing with the European scrutiny committee, which was due to take place at 2pm, has been postponed, the committee has said. It hasn’t said why, but the new foreign secretary would not be the first person to feel less than enthusiastic about the prospect of spending an afternoon discussing European treaties with Sir Bill Cash, the committee’s chair.
