Rwanda Asylum Partnership

Baroness Foster of Oxton Excerpts

Wednesday 19th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Cunningham of Felling (Lab)]

My Lords, when will—

[Baroness Foster of Oxton (Con)]

My Lords, most of the—

[Noble Lords]

Foster!

[Lord Cunningham of Felling (Lab)]

She is just reading her question out!

[Baroness Foster of Oxton (Con)]

My Lords, most of the Rwanda Cabinet were refugees and understand the difficulties that people face, particularly coming from war-torn countries. Rwanda has moved forward massively from the days when it suffered war and genocide. Does my noble friend agree that we need to kickstart this process for illegal immigrants as soon as possible as we cannot sustain the levels as they stand and be seen to support people traffickers, who continue to make money on the backs of human misery?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for that question and I agree with her. The point of this policy is to break the vile criminal enterprise that operates in the channel. I think most noble Lords would approve of that aim. As to whether Rwanda is safe, which is the essence of my noble friend’s question, I say that it is a fundamentally safe and secure country with respect for the rule of law. She is right to point out that the majority of the Cabinet were refugees, and it is also worth pointing out that Rwanda has one of only two, I think, Parliaments in the world that has a majority of women sitting in it.