Don't send LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum to Rwanda
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The government has announced that it intends to send people seeking asylum in the UK to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed there. This is extremely concerning for LGBTQI+ people seeking safety, as Rwanda is a dangerous place to be LGBTQI+.
Although same sex relations are not outlawed, there are no specific laws protecting LGBTQI+ people from discrimination and abuse. Rights like same-sex marriage or adoption and gender recognition for trans people do not exist. And there is widespread evidence of LGBTQI+ people being harassed, detained and beaten by security officials.
The UK Foreign Office’s own advice for tourists to Rwanda warns of “discrimination and abuse, including from local authorities”. And the situation for LGBTQI+ people there is so dire that Rainbow Migration has supported LGBTQI+ people from Rwanda seeking asylum here.
People who arrive in the UK seeking asylum have fled persecution or conflict, and sending them 4,000 miles away to a place where they have no connections will only cause them further suffering.
Sign the petition now to call on Home Secretary James Cleverly and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to abandon this shameful policy before it’s too late and to instead create a compassionate, caring asylum system.
People arriving in the UK to seek asylum have fled unimaginable situations, and they deserve our compassion and kindness. To fly them 4,000 miles away for processing in Rwanda is a cruel and expensive policy that will only put people at risk.
For LGBTQI+ people in particular, Rwanda is a dangerous place where basic rights and protections that would apply in the UK are absent. The UK Foreign Office’s own travel advice warns of the “discrimination and abuse, including from local authorities” that LGBTQI+ people can face there.
The outpouring of support for Afghan and Ukrainian refugees has shown that the British public is ready to welcome people seeking safety here. We are calling on the UK government to honour the views of the British public and our international obligations and abandon this policy.
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