The Rwanda plan is a ridiculous gimmick that shames us all

The ‘stop the boats’ flagship policy, which is now going through parliament, has become a lightning rod for disgruntled hard-right Tory rebels – but it is also a legal and moral test for a nation adrift, says Helena Kennedy

Helena Kennedy KC says the Rwanda bill is a ‘wheeze to outsource our obligations to provide sanctuary’ (AFP via Getty)

When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in the aftermath of the Second World War, it was recognised immediately as a milestone document. To enshrine “human rights” in international law was to protect the individual in the face of potential harms from states and other powerful entities.

At the time, one key concern of many signatories to the universal declaration and other post-war human rights documents was that fascist or communist governments could override individual rights in the name of collective interests.

Which is why the concept of a European Convention on Human Rights in 1950 found such favour with Winston Churchill and his fellow Conservatives. To them, protecting the individual rights of people because they are human felt like a very conservative concept – one with a sacred meaning.