Britain’s judiciary on Thursday declared the controversial plan to deport migrants who arrived illegally in the UK to Rwanda “illegal”, jeopardizing a key measure in the Conservative government’s arsenal against illegal immigration.
The Court of Appeal concluded that Rwanda in its current form cannot be considered a “safe third country” because “there is a real risk that people posted to Rwanda will be returned to their country of origin, where they have been subjected to persecution and other inhumane measures .” Treatment”.
A deportation to Rwanda constitutes “a violation” of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which stipulates that “no one may harm anyone or inflict torture on anyone,” the Court of Appeal ruled.
This decision can still be appealed to the Supreme Court.
“Until the deficiencies in the asylum process are addressed, posting asylum seekers to Rwanda will be illegal,” the court said in a summary of the ruling.
She made it clear that her decision “implies no position on the political merits” of this measure and that her sole concern is to assess whether this policy is in accordance with the law.
Despite this decision, “Rwanda remains fully committed to making this partnership” with the UK “work,” Kigali government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo told AFP.
“Although this decision ultimately rests with the UK courts, we dispute the fact that Rwanda is not considered a safe country for refugees and asylum-seekers,” she added. With regard to human rights, Rwanda is regularly criticized for its harsh crackdown on political opposition and disregard for freedom of expression.
“Take Back Control”
Hailing a “rare piece of good news in the UK’s murky human rights landscape,” Yasmine Ahmed, director of NGO Human Rights Watch in the country, urged Home Secretary Suella Braverman to “give up on this feverish, impractical and unethical dream.” “.
The ruling “offers an opportunity for the government to change course,” rather than “treating people like cargo to be shipped elsewhere, it should focus on ending a hostile environment for refugees and asylum-seekers,” she added.
Fighting illegal immigration is one of the priorities of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government.
Despite Brexit’s promise to “take back control of borders”, more than 45,000 migrants crossed the English Channel from France in small boats in 2022, a record. And this year, more than 11,000 have done the same.
Last December, the High Court in London gave the green light to a project to deport some of them to Rwanda, a project that has since been halted on legal grounds due to legal appeals.
However, the judges had accepted that the appeals of several applicants and Charity Aid, which provides legal support to asylum seekers, would be examined. They denounce a “systematically unfair” project and assume that asylum seekers who are deported to Rwanda would have to face persecution there.
fear of persecution
In 2021, 27 people lost their lives trying to cross the English Channel, one of the busiest straits in the world. At least four others have died in the past year.
The plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was announced when Boris Johnson was prime minister. The government had signed an agreement with Kigali to deport migrants in hopes of preventing them from crossing the border.
However, no deportation has yet taken place, and a first flight planned for June 2022 was canceled after the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a decision calling for a thorough review of this policy.
The government recently acknowledged that these evictions would cost nearly €200,000 per person.
However, the Department estimates that £106,000 (€123,290) could be saved per asylum seeker over four years, particularly on accommodation costs.
According to this data, for the project to be profitable, two in five migrants would have to be prevented from crossing the English Channel.