My Lords, this was a brisk debate that touched on a number of very important points. The noble Baroness, Lady Chakrabarti, in opening, developed her point with admirable concision, which I fear I will be unable to match in responding. None the less, in answer to her points relating to the protection of claimants—the same point raised by my noble friend Lord Hailsham from our Benches—we say that those protections are to be found in the Bill and the treaty and the mechanisms which they set up.
My noble friend challenged us on three specific points. He first said that, in his belief, the judiciary can be more robust in the way that it treats unmeritorious claims. Respectfully, I agree and I do not suppose that anyone in the Chamber would disagree. My noble friend went on to say that it is dangerous to exclude persons who are within the jurisdiction of our courts from their jurisdiction. In the special circumstances with which this Bill is concerned, I consider that the protections of such persons as are involved through the scheme of the Bill are guaranteed adequately by our arrangements with the Republic of Rwanda and the oversight that we have in place.
My noble friend went on to ask whether the policy was likely to achieve the aim of deterrence that we have sought with the Bill. He quite properly rehearsed his view to the House that he thought that it was unlikely to be the case. All I can say in response is that, for the reasons set out by my noble friend Lord Sharpe of Epsom, I beg leave to disagree.
My noble friend Lord Inglewood posed the question of whether it is government policy to look at each individual case. In relation to that, I refer him to Clause 4 of the Bill, which permits decisions based on the individual circumstances of particular applicants.
The noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, accused the Government of extremism and authoritarianism. I detect gratitude on the part of noble Lords on the Opposition Front Bench that, unlike on Monday, her fire was directed at the Government principally, instead
of at their party. But she returned to the attack that she mounted on Monday. I disavow any suggestion that the Government are motivated by either extremism or authoritarianism.
There was another brisk debate involving the noble Lord, Lord Cashman, and the noble Baronesses, Lady Kennedy and Lady Lawrence, and my noble friends Lady Meyer and Lord Murray of Blidworth on these Benches. The conclusion, or the final submission in relation to that debate, was given from the Cross Benches by the noble Lord, Lord Anderson of Ipswich. I accept that noble Lords, having informed themselves by travelling to Rwanda and considering the position on the ground, have reached contrary views. The noble Lord, Lord Anderson of Ipswich, invited us to consider that the appropriate forum for discussion and consideration of these points is the courts. His Majesty’s Government begs to disagree: we find appropriate protections for claimants in the arrangements made for supervision by officials in real time via the structures set up in the Act to examine Rwanda’s compliance with its obligations. As we have heard in previous debates, one of the core principles that the Bill is seeking to address is to limit challenges that can be brought against the general safety of Rwanda.
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Amendment 33 seeks to remove Clause 4 and replace it with a new clause. This new clause would not prevent a decision being made about whether it is safe to remove a person or any particular group of people to Rwanda, the courts and tribunals from reviewing such a decision, and a decision-maker from considering the risk of refoulement when making decisions on relocating people to Rwanda. This amendment would therefore completely undermine the objectives of the Bill.
The amendment is not necessary because there are appropriate safeguards in the Bill. These safeguards allow decision-makers and the courts to consider a claim that Rwanda is unsafe where it relates to the particular circumstances of an individual person, as I said a moment ago in answer to the question posed by my noble friend Lord Inglewood, and, if there is compelling evidence to that effect, to grant interim relief where removal would result in a real, imminent and foreseeable risk of serious and irreversible harm for the individual before their appeal was determined.
As my noble friend Lord Sharpe of Epsom set out on Monday, the Bill builds on the internationally binding treaty, reflecting the strength of the Government of Rwanda’s protections and commitments. The treaty, alongside the evidence of changes in Rwanda since summer 2022, which details the evidence His Majesty’s Government have used to inform our assessment on the safety of Rwanda, concludes that Rwanda is safe for the purposes of asylum processing, and the published policy statement outlines the key findings. The assurances we have negotiated in our legally binding treaty with Rwanda address the concerns of the Supreme Court, such that Rwanda is safe in general, and make detailed provision for the treatment of relocated individuals in Rwanda, ensuring that they will be offered safety and protection with no risk of refoulement. The Supreme Court concluded that changes needed to be made to Rwanda’s asylum procedures in order to ensure compliance with the principle of non-refoulement.
His Majesty’s Government and the Government of Rwanda have agreed and begun to implement assurances and commitments to strengthen Rwanda’s asylum system. This includes: devising new operational training to Rwandan asylum decision-makers; establishing clear standard operating procedures which will capture new processes implemented through the treaty; and strengthening procedural oversight of the MEDP and asylum processes through enhanced monitoring functions delivered by the monitoring committee. In advance of agreeing the treaty, we worked with the Government of Rwanda to respond to the findings of the court by documenting Rwanda’s existing asylum procedures and practice in the standard operating procedures relating to and reflecting the current refugee status determination and appeals process.