The UK government is set to introduce emergency legislation to designate Rwanda as a safe country in response to a Supreme Court ruling declaring the country’s flagship asylum policy illegal. Speaking to reporters at a Downing Street press conference, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced that the UK and Rwanda are working together on a new treaty that will confirm the latter as a safe country. The treaty will guarantee that asylum-seekers will not be deported back to their home country, but critics have questioned whether Rwanda will honour such a promise.
The court’s decision means that neither the UK nor Rwanda can confirm that the latter is a genuinely safe country. The controversy surrounding the flagship Rwandan asylum policy, which has already cost at least £140m, was based on plans to transport asylum-seekers to Rwanda and deny them a return to the UK. The first flight had been scheduled to depart in June 2022 but was later cancelled after a decision by the European Court of Human Rights.
The Supreme Court ruled that, as it currently stands, the policy defies the principle of “non-refoulement,” which prohibits authorities from deporting asylum-seekers to countries where they face persecution. The court believed that there were “substantial grounds” to fear that individuals deported to Rwanda could further be deported to risky locations. Sunak has come under fire from certain sections of the Tory party for his handling of immigration, and pressure is mounting on the government to come up with alternative policies for admitting and treating refugees.
Critics fear that even if the new emergency legislation passes, it could face further challenges from the European Court of Human Rights. Sunak has vowed to do all that is necessary to make the Rwandan policy work. However, many remain sceptical about whether that is actually possible. The Rwandan government has criticised the UK’s decision to ban asylum-seekers from returning and claims that the country is already committed to hosting refugees and promoting their welfare
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