By a vote of 214 against 171, peers declined to ratify the deal. It is believed to be the first time the Lords have voted in opposition to a treaty’s ratification.
Following a report last week that suggested the treaty not be ratified, the upper house was voting today.
It follows a challenge from Rishi Sunak to colleagues not to “frustrate the will of the people”.
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By a vote of 214 against 171, peers declined to ratify the deal.
The report has received unanimous support from the cross-party International Agreements Committee (IAC), which includes Lord Eddy Lister, an ally of Boris Johnson, according to Labour’s Lord Peter Goldsmith, the person who proposed the debate.
The only thing the House of Lords can suggest is delaying treaty signing. Nonetheless, the treaty’s signature may be postponed if the Commons votes in lockstep.
The motion’s title read as follows: “This House resolves, in accordance with section 20 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, that His Majesty’s Government should not ratify the UK-Rwanda Agreement on an Asylum Partnership until the protections it provides have been fully implemented.”
The Safety of Rwanda Bill was introduced based on this treaty, which includes the agreements stating that Rwanda is “safe”.
Next week, the bill will be discussed in the Lords.
