UK Supreme Court strikes down policy to send asylum seekers to Rwanda; says East African country unsafe
The Supreme Court in the United Kingdom on Wednesday struck down a government proposal to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda, saying the East African country lacks safety guarantees to prevent refugees from being sent back home where they would face persecution.
The judgement thwarts a key policy aim of the Conservative government, now led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, which has been trying to curtail illegal immigration into Britain. It was proposed last year and immediately faced pushback from Labour and other opposition elements as crude and unlawful.The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the Home Secretary’s appeal and upheld the Court of Appeal’s conclusion that the Rwanda policy was unlawful, a summary of the judgment that was posted on the Supreme Court’s website shortly after 10:00 a.m. local time said.
“This is because there are substantial grounds for believing that asylum seekers would face a real risk of ill-treatment by reason of refoulement to their country of origin if they were removed to Rwanda,” the judgment said. Lord Reed and Lord Lloyd-Jones give a joint judgment with which the other members of the Court agree.
The Supreme Court’s judgment focused primarily on the grounds of appeal concerning refoulement and extant European Union regulations. Some of the asylum seekers were granted permission to cross-appeal on two other grounds, but given the court’s conclusion on the refoulement ground, it is unnecessary for the court to determine them, the judgment added.
It came a day after former Home Secretary Suella Braverman warned that the judgement would be unfavourable to Mr Sunak’s government and would be devastating to the UK Conservatives in the next election because it would take all the party’s policies back to “square one.” Ms Braverman’s warning came in a letter she sent to Mr Sunak a day after the prime minister fired her from office over her criticism of police’s mild handling of pro-Palestinian protesters who were chanting deaths to Jews in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Economy
CBN opens applications for second cohort of virtual assets regulatory programme
The CBN said it would support stablecoins, payments, settlement, custody, wallets, and related financial infrastructure that require supervised live testing.
States
Jigawa govt approves N8 billion for education, other projects
The state executive council approved the fund during its meeting on Monday, chaired by Governor Umar Namadi.
States
Ogun govt seals paper company over illegal dumpsite
Mr Akintunde said the action followed months of monitoring and intelligence gathering, which revealed that the company operated an illegal dumpsite opposite its factory.
Diaspora
Ireland-based Nigerian man who claimed mistaken identity deported to Nigeria
Mr Okwuoha was accused by Irish authorities of resisting deportation after the suspect said he was one of 10 identical brothers.
States
Troops rescue nine kidnapped commuters in Kogi
Troops on Tuesday rescued nine kidnapped commuters in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
NationWide
FG inaugurates advertising offences tribunal
Mr Idris said the tribunal is part of the federal government’s efforts to strengthen regulation and promote professionalism in the advertising industry.
