The UK is completely abandoning its duties towards refugees

The Rwanda scheme is just one part of a broader raft of anti-refugee policies, writes Emilie McDonnell

In April, the UK passed perhaps one of the most draconian asylum law in the UK’s history (AP)

In recent years, we have seen an alarming trend of wealthy, destination countries seeking to close their doors to asylum seekers and refugees. The United Kingdom is no exception.

The UK often speaks of its proud history of offering sanctuary to those fleeing persecution and being a compassionate and welcoming country. The UK and other European states’ response to people fleeing Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion gave us a glimmer of hope that a humane approach is possible (although the UK’s approach still fell behind that of its neighbours).

At the same time, the UK is completely abandoning its duties towards other people arriving on its shores. The government is attempting to expel asylum seekers to Rwanda, which cannot be considered a safe third country for asylum seekers. Human Rights Watch has extensively documented human rights violations there – arbitrary detention, torture and extrajudicial killings, including of refugees who protested a reduction in their food rations.