IPPR: Rwanda asylum seeker offshoring plan is ‘a recipe for further human rights violations’

Think tank asylum experts also point out that a similar Australian scheme has cost Australian taxpayers around £5.2 billion since 2013

Responding to the government’s plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, Marley Morris, IPPR associate director for migration, trade and communities, said:

“The government’s announcement to set up offshore processing centres in Rwanda is unethical, unsustainable, and likely to come at a huge cost to the UK taxpayer.

“There are serious concerns over Rwanda’s human rights record, including reports of arbitrary detention, torture and degrading treatment, and political imprisonment. Sending vulnerable people who have fled persecution to offshore processing hubs is a recipe for further human rights violations.

“There is also no evidence to show that this method of immigration enforcement is effective. Australia’s policy of offshore detention has become a costly failure. The lack of safe and legal routes for people crossing the Channel means that that any deterrent effect is unlikely to work. This plan will come at an extortionate expense for the government. The Australian system has cost a total of £5.2 billion since 2013, averaging at around £580 million a year.

"Rather than pursuing this inhumane and ineffective plan, the government should secure a new agreement with France on the Channel crossings, expand its safe and legal routes, and invest in a more effective and efficient asylum system.”

ENDS

CONTACT

Robin Harvey, Senior Digital and Media Officer: 07779 204798 r.harvey@ippr.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. IPPR is the UK’s pre-eminent progressive think tank. With more than 40 staff in offices in London, Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh, IPPR is Britain’s only national think tank with a truly national presence. www.ippr.org