"It is deeply troubling to hear the arguments of those members of the UK Parliament who would like to see ‘tougher’ legislation to ‘stop the boats’. The UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership has rightly come under heavy criticism from lawyers, activists, politicians, and asylum seekers themselves. Identified by its critiques as illegal, immoral, and unworkable, a legal battle has morphed into a race to the bottom as the UK Government threatens to withdraw from its obligations under international law.

Recent opinion polls in the UK show that support or opposition to the plan are divided along political party lines, and we see the debate over this legislation being framed as a test of Rishi Sunak’s leadership.

It is important not to forget that this plan to ‘stop the boats’ addresses a relatively small number of individual asylum cases, and is not a comprehensive or humane plan to tackle the scale of the challenges around welcoming and processing asylum claims. The real challenge is in stopping human suffering and dismantling the systems and prejudices which produce and sustain it.

The debate about this plan is taking place in the law courts, and in the legislative bodies of the UK, but at its heart it needs to be a debate about the moral standards we have and wish to set, about a global social contract, and about what kind of role the UK should be playing."