British House of Lords against ratification: setback for Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda plan Soldier in Iran opens fire on comrades – five dead

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has suffered a setback in the House of Representatives with his new asylum law. The House of Lords voted in London on Monday evening in favor of a motion not to ratify the underlying treaty with Rwanda for the time being. This will likely delay a vote on the law. Sunak had strongly warned the House of Lords, which consists of around 800 largely appointed members, not to stand in the way of the will of the elected lower house. The House approved the asylum law last week.

The Conservative government’s draft plan would see all migrants who come to Britain irregularly be deported to Rwanda, regardless of their origin. They would have to seek asylum in the East African country, which critics accuse of human rights abuses. A return to Britain is out of the question. To this end, Rwanda must be declared a safe third country by law.

The safety requirements are not yet met

A report recommended that the Rwanda Treaty not be ratified until all security requirements were met. The responsible committee of the House of Lords approved the report with the votes of members of both major parties.

Despite the vote, it is widely expected that the House of Lords will not ultimately block the treaty or the law. However, the House of Lords, known to be critical, could delay the planned schedule. This would make implementation more difficult before the next parliamentary elections. The social-democratic Labor Party, which is clearly leading in all polls, has already announced that it will not continue with the Rwanda plan.

(hah/sda/dpa)