The Independent Chief Inspector's inspection report concerning Home Office country information about Rwanda was laid in Parliament today and is available on the ICIBI website.
Commenting on the publication of the report, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, David Bolt, said:
One of the Independent Chief Inspector's statutory functions is to consider and make recommendations about the content of information about conditions in other countries produced by the Home Office for use by its officials in making asylum decisions and for other purposes. Today's report was produced in that context.
The report follows a review of the Country Policy and Information Notes (CPINs) on Rwanda produced by the Home Office in May 2022. This review was commissioned by the Independent Advisory Group on Country Information (IAGCI), a panel of experts convened by the Independent Chief Inspector to assist with assessing country information. The review was completed in July 2022, but subsequent stages of the inspection process, including consideration of the review by IAGCI, were delayed while legal challenges to the operationalisation of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) between the UK and Rwanda - relating in part to the CPINs under review - remained pending.
The inspection report follows the IAGCI's discussion of the Rwanda CPINs in January 2024, while David Neal was still in post. After the hiatus when there was no Independent Chief Inspector, I was able to complete the inspection process in July and present the report to the new Home Secretary for publication, which she has done at the earliest opportunity. Though the situation with regard to removals to Rwanda has changed, this places the July 2022 review in the public domain, as is appropriate, given that it had been disclosed to the parties to the legal challenges against the MEDP and referred to in the judgments delivered in those cases.
Inspection report on Home Office country of origin information on Rwanda (January 2024)
