This letter was composed and signed by mental health professionals, including psychologists and psychotherapists working in the National Health Service (NHS), the third sector and beyond. We are deeply alarmed by the violent and traumatic nature of the UK’s Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act (2024). As experts in the field of mental health, we write this letter to expose the catastrophic psychological harm it will cause.

The principal aim of the Safety of Rwanda Act is to deter people from seeking asylum in the UK without prior permission (Home Office, 2024). This, however, was decided despite a lack of evidence (UK Parliament, 2024), which is unprofessional and evidently incorrect given the increase in people arriving via small boats due to a lack of legal and safe routes (House of Commons Committee, 2023).

To seek asylum is a human right (United Nations, 1948). The Act’s blatant violation of this was recognised by the Supreme Court (Amnesty International, 2024) and the UK parliament (House of Commons Committee, 2023). This law may also infringe on the international refugee law of non-refoulement (i.e., the prohibition of returning people to a country where they may face harm) as Rwanda’s legal and judiciary system has previously breached this (United Nations, 2024). Additionally, reports illuminate that Rwanda will likely be unsafe for people with marginalised identities such as LGBTQIA+ (openDemocracy, 2024; Powell, 2023) due to discrimination and abuse (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, 2021). It is crucial to acknowledge that human rights violations have a traumatic and intolerable impact on individuals, families, communities, societies and nations (Engdhal et al., 2018).

These human rights violations would happen in addition to the trauma experienced throughout migration. Often, people’s journeys are marked by, and not limited to, human trafficking, exploitation, torture, war and persecution (Chen et al., 2017; Carlsson et al., 2018), alongside cultural and personal loss, typically due to family separation (Liddell et al., 2021). Devastatingly, once people arrive in the UK, sanctuary seekers face unfair and hostile treatment by the Home Office, increased uncertainty, immeasurable fear of detention (Pollard & Howard, 2021), and marginalisation in the host society (Liddell et al., 2021).

Exposure to such trauma, which culminates over time, places people at risk of overwhelming mental distress, such as depression, anxiety, loneliness and post-traumatic stress disorder (Blackmore et al., 2020; Chen et al., 2017). This frequently leads to experiences of hopelessness and helplessness, which prevents people from accessing crucial integrated support (BPS, 2022), thus fuelling their emotional pain and destroying their chances of becoming fully-functioning members of society.

What would you hope for if you or anyone you love were to face such challenges? Would you stand for the blatant disregard for and violation of their rights? Would you want others to deny their humanity? Please remember that any person, no matter their life story, now faces the risk of the profoundly damaging act of removal.

There is an ethical and moral obligation to treat all people with compassion and dignity. People fleeing dangerous situations are entitled to a safe and secure life. This is particularly critical considering the grave impact of British colonialism and contributions to wars inflicted on communities from the Global South (Freire, 1970; Fanon, 2001). Moreover, outsourcing our asylum system to other countries abandons our duty to share the global responsibility of providing care to those forced to seek safety elsewhere.

It is imperative that the mental health of people seeking asylum is protected and the violence of this Act be acknowledged. We unite with the general public (Politics, 2024) and stand against this law. We demand an approach that aligns with the fundamental British values of democracy, individual liberty, the rule of law, and mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths or beliefs (UK Government, 2014).

We call for you to lead by example, protect human rights and abolish the Safety of Rwanda Act.

Kind regards,

The undersigned

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openDemocracy (2024). ‘Safe’ Rwanda is refusing LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, Home Office was told in 2022. opendemocracy.net/en/rwanda-bill-safety-lgbtq-asyl...

Pollard, T., Howard, N. Mental healthcare for asylum-seekers and refugees residing in the United Kingdom: a scoping review of policies, barriers, and enablers. Int J Ment Health Syst 15, 60 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-021-00473-z

Politics (2024) British Future/Focaldata poll: Less than a quarter of the public back Rwanda Bill in current form, poll finds. politics.co.uk/news/2024/03/18/less-than-a-quarter...

Powell, A. (2023) ‘Developed’: Administrative Violence in Sexual Diversity Asylum Claims at the UK Home Office. In: Dalton, D., Smith, A. (Eds) Gender, Sexuality and the UN’s SDGs. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Palgrave Macmillian, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31046-1_3

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