This week, the Safety of Rwanda Bill (SoR) was passed. This government legislation opens asylum seekers up to the risk of deportation to Rwanda. There, their asylum claims will be decided by the Rwandan government rather than the UK.
What does this mean for survivors of modern slavery who are also asylum seekers, and why is there such widespread concern among front-line charities and Parliamentarians?
Background
The UK Supreme Court ruled on November 15, 2023, that Rwanda does not meet the standards of a safe country for refugees1. Now, in an attempt to ‘override’ the judgement, Rishi Sunak’s Government has introduced the ‘Safety of Rwanda’ Bill, which forces the hands of judges to deem Rwanda a safe country.
Impact on modern slavery survivors
Survivors of modern slavery face significant risk under the Safety of Rwanda Bill. Under the legislation, international laws are ‘disapplied’ (or rendered almost useless), including the European Convention on Action against Trafficking (ECAT) which ensures survivors can access basic entitlements like medical assistance and shelter2. Rwanda is not a signatory to ECAT, leaving ambiguity around which entitlements – if any – survivors could access if they are deported to the country.
Rwanda is documented as not fully meeting its obligations to prevent and address human trafficking, according to the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. Observers reported that screening and support within settings to house refugees are under constraint, with “a lack of capacity and resources inhibiting… effective procedures, screening, and assistance to trafficking victims in refugee camps”. In our view, it is highly unlikely that survivors’ needs will be met in such settings.3
Parliamentarians and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees have raised serious concerns about Rwanda’s ability to make asylum decisions that safeguard people from return to countries where they face danger (known as ‘refoulement’). This leaves survivors at risk of deportation to the country in which they were first trafficked.
Proposed amendments and ‘monitoring’
Peers in the House of Lords proposed amendments to the SoR Bill, aiming to safeguard against the deportation of modern slavery survivors. Lord German’s amendment would have prevented the deportation of survivors under any circumstances, whilst Baroness Butler-Sloss’ amendment would have prevented the deportation of survivors awaiting a final trafficking decision from the Home Office.5 However, the Government refused these safeguards, instead making a concession to ‘monitor’ the impact of the Rwanda plan on survivors of modern slavery as per Lord Coaker’s amendment.
Whilst transparency is a necessity, it does not replace the need to adhere to human rights in the first place. As Helen Bamber Foundation highlights today, there is already ample evidence regarding what asylum seeking survivors of modern slavery need to recover, and it is more compassion from the immigration system: “For survivors of interpersonal violence, for whom trust in others is a key challenge, the constant public shaming and condemnation combined with the cruelty of the policy further erodes their belief that they will ever be treated fairly, prolonging and complicating the work of recovery. “
Why are survivors worried about deportation?
Deporting survivors of modern slavery poses severe risks, some of which are shared by all people subject to immigration control.
Some survivors may fear corruption and reprisals upon deportation, as traffickers routinely use their links to law enforcement and local government to instil fear. Corruption and modern slavery often go hand-in-hand: the top source countries for modern slavery are also amongst some of the most poorly rated countries in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index [rated out of 100], including Vietnam (41), Albania (37), Eritrea (21) and Sudan (20).6
Survivors may also face problems accessing support if returned to a country where modern slavery is not recognised as a crime. A scoping exercise by the University of Hull found that in 94 country (“more than half the world”) modern slavery is not recognised as a criminal offence.7
Some survivors face stigma and ostracisation upon return, particularly in cases where people have been subjected to sex trafficking, or violated through forced labour, and this is poorly understood by officials. This exacerbates vulnerability and hinders recovery.8
Lastly, deportation robs people of their futures and uproots people from communities they have become a part of. This applies to everybody targeted by the Safety of Rwanda Bill, not just survivors of modern slavery.
Our statement
After Exploitation’s director, Maya Esslemont, said:
“People in the asylum system, including survivors of modern slavery, are being punished again and again: Warehoused in derelict buildings and barges, banned from work and forced into poverty, detained in prison-like settings or surveilled in the community. This is no way for a humane society to treat people fleeing danger.
Many victims of modern slavery are trying to piece together their lives whilst also living at the whim of the asylum system, particularly as immigration leave is so inconsistently granted to survivors. We frequently hear from experts with lived experience that hostile environment policies threaten their futures. We stand unequivocally against this legislation, which poses a new and needless threat to people rebuilding their lives after hardship.”
Joint statement with JCWI and charity partners
After Exploitation is one of 250 charities, community groups and legal organisations to sign the JCWI’s open letter on the Safety of Rwanda Bill. The letter outlines the harm that will be caused, and how the legislation is “rewriting… facts so they can shirk our responsibilities to refugees.”
Footnotes
- Human Rights Watch – UK Supreme Court Finds UK-Rwanda Asylum Scheme Unlawful
- European Convention on Action against Trafficking (ECAT)
- US State Department Trafficking in Persons Report 2023 – Rwanda
- UNHCR – Slavery and Human Trafficking
- Hansard – Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill
- UNDP – Corruption and Contemporary Forms of Slavery
- University of Hull – Modern Slavery Scoping Exercise
- Garden Court Chambers – Albanian Trafficked Boys and Young Men
- UNDP – Corruption and Contemporary Forms of Slavery
After Exploitation 