Liberty responds to Rwanda deportations injunction

Sam Grant, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Liberty, said:

“We all have the right to be treated with dignity, respect, and compassion. We’re pleased that the flight yesterday to Rwanda was cancelled, thanks to the tireless and inspirational work of those advocating for the refugees on the plane and those organising resistance to the hostile environment in our communities. Our human rights are designed to protect us from these exact situations which fundamentally threaten our safety and that would have put people at risk of serious harm had they been deported to Rwanda.

It is likely we’ll hear a lot in the coming days from Ministers about the need to change certain laws and ‘European judges’, as they seek to force through this unjust and unpopular policy. Make no mistake, this is a clear power grab to try to take our rights away from us, and remove any check and balance that makes them accountable.

The Government is proposing short term, short-sighted solutions to a problem of their own making – the lack of safe routes for refugees – that will in turn cause irreparable long-term damage to everyone’s rights. Leaving the ECHR would be an unthinkable assault on the human rights of everyone in this country. The Government is trying to change the rules so only they can win, to try to push through a policy that is racist, unjust and unworkable.

We are seeing this through their plans to get rid of the Human Rights Act, their assault on Judicial Review, introduction of Voter ID laws, the attack on the right to protest, and ripping up of the Refugee Convention. This agenda will make it even harder for all of us but especially those of us from marginalised communities, including refugees and migrants, to defend our rights.

As the Government pushes on with this deeply harmful policy, we must not give up now. They will attempt to deport our neighbours and community members again, they will attempt to rip up our human rights protections. It is important we continue to come together and do everything within our power to protect our rights, and to protect all those at risk from the Government’s dangerous plans.”