Solidarity massage from Home Office HQ, Efra London and South-East

DLUHC HQ National Branch

Dear Members of the Stop Rwanda Campaign,

On behalf of PCS branches based at 2 Marsham Street – Home Office HQ, Efra London and South-East, and DLUHC HQ National Branch – we are writing to express our complete solidarity and support for the Stop Rwanda Campaign, particularly in your efforts to halt deportation flights to Rwanda.

As civil servants, we have a duty to act according to the Nolan Principles of public life, and the Civil Service Code values of honesty, integrity, impartiality, and objectivity. We are concerned that the Rwanda scheme breaks these values, sending refugees to a country where there are concerning report of human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention, torture, and suppression of political dissent. Furthermore, we are concerned by efforts to force civil servants to fulfil policy that undermines a ruling of the UK’s own Supreme Court and our international obligations. The Supreme Court ruled in November 2023 that the Court of Appeal’s judgement that the Government’s Rwanda Policy was unlawful. As trade unions, we stand in solidarity with those fleeing violence and persecution and stand firm on the importance of Rule of Law and compliance with international legal rules, such as non-refoulement.

The Stop Rwanda Campaign aligns with core trade union values to defend the rights of all individuals, regardless of their nationality or immigration status. We believe that no one should be forcibly returned to a country where their safety and freedom are at risk.

Last year, PCS, the Care4Calais the refugee charity, Detention Action campaign group, and eight refugees launched a judicial review to challenge the policy to deport refugees to Rwanda without allowing due consideration of their asylum claims.

We join your calls for an immediate end to deportation flights to Rwanda and urge the Government to reassess its policies regarding asylum seekers and refugees from Rwanda. It is imperative that the Government upholds its obligations under international law to protect individuals fleeing persecution and ensure that their asylum claims are properly and fairly assessed.

We would like to take this opportunity to highlight the anger and stress this policy is causing our colleagues in the Home Office, who are being directed to work on this cruel and potentially unlawful policy. Our members are proud public servants, they did not join the Civil Service to engage in cruelty towards others. 

As trade unionists, we put people before profiteering from misery. Those being forcibly exported to Rwanda are not just a statistic, they are our fellow human beings. Safe and legal routes are the answer as migration is not a crime.

Yours in solidarity,

Home Office HQ,

Efra London and South-East