14 November 2023: Open Democracy: Supreme Court Rwanda ruling is a victory – but not the slam dunk you think
The courts won’t save us from the Home Office’s cruelty. Those who defend refugees must get bolder – fast
he UK Supreme Court has ruled that the government’s flagship Rwanda deportation plan for refugees is unlawful – a decision that will bring relief to thousands of men, women and children seeking asylum in this country who are trapped in the government’s backlog in crummy hotels or on the prison barge.
The Supreme Court found unanimously that there were clear grounds to believe refugees would not be safe in Rwanda, where 100% of people from Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan have had their asylum claims rejected, and where the government itself is accused of torture, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances. The real and serious danger in which our government was aiming to put people who came to us seeking protection is unthinkable and must never be forgotten.
But while today we who defend the rights of refugees must celebrate the respite we have been given from that terrible prospect, the crucial point we must maintain our focus on tomorrow is what the court did not say.
The court did not rule that the principle of sending refugees to another country instead of looking after them ourselves would be unlawful in principle. It merely assessed that Rwanda would not be a safe country to send them to.
inews: Latest Rwanda news as Sunak working on new treaty with Rwanda after losing Supreme Court challenge
- Lee Anderson calls on Government to ‘ignore the laws’ and ‘put the planes in the air now’
- Rwanda plan is ‘just one part of a vehicle of measures to stop the boats,’ says Cleverly
- Analysis: Supreme Court decision will fuel right-wing revolt against Sunak
- ‘We take our humanitarian responsibilities seriously,’ says Rwanda
- Supreme Court judgment is ‘victory for humanity,’ says refugee charity
- Supreme Court rules against Government on Rwanda policy
The Supreme Court has ruled that Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda policy is unlawful, in a major blow to the Government’s plan to “stop the boats”.
It comes after Suella Braverman – who was recently sacked from her role as Home Secretary – warned that the Prime Minister had no “credible” backup plan in a scathing resignation letter.
The court said “deficiencies” in the Rwandan asylum system made it unsafe for the UK to relocate migrants to the African country.
Read more: https://inews.co.uk/news/latest-uk-politics-sunak-inflation-target-2755675
Bloomberg on ‘X’: Tory MPs proposing to get around the Supreme Court ruling on Rwanda by disregarding the UK’s international legal obligations are “living in a fantasy world,” says former Attorney General Dominic Grieve
Listen for the latest from Bloomberg UK Politics: https://trib.al/4YLiZMg