London
CNN
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British controversial policy Deportations of some asylum seekers in Rwanda were on Monday deemed legal by the country’s high court.
A group of NGOs, asylum seekers and a civil service trade union questioned the legality of the plan, which would see asylum seekers enter the UK illegally sent to rwanda to process their asylum claims.
The court held that the government was capable of making those arrangements. But it also criticized Home Secretary Suella Braverman for failing to properly assess the circumstances surrounding the individual people being transferred under the scheme.
Braverman “must decide whether there is something about each individual’s particular circumstances which means that his asylum claim should be determined in the United Kingdom or whether there are other reasons why he should not be transferred to Rwanda,” Lord Justice Lewis said in his judgment.
“It has not properly considered the circumstances of the eight individual claimants whose cases we have considered,” the judge added. He said those eight cases would be sent back to the Home Office for Braverman to be re-evaluated.
The UK government’s partnership with the East African country has come under sharp criticism since it was announced in April by former UK home secretary Priti Patel.
It is supported by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his successor Liz Truss and current leader Rishi Sunak, as well as most of the ruling Conservative Party.
But it has a legion of critics, including dozens of refugee rights groups, international agencies, British lawmakers on both sides of the House of Commons, the head of the Anglican Church and some Rwandan opposition politicians.
The first flight to Rwanda was scheduled to take off on June 14, but the European Court of Human Rights stepped in at the eleventh hour, and months of legal challenges have stalled the schedule for months.
The UK says it will pay Rwanda £120 million ($145 million) over the next five years to finance the plan.
Braverman welcomed Monday’s decision in a statement, saying he is “committed to making this partnership a success.”
“My focus remains on moving forward with the policy as quickly as possible and we stand ready to defend against any legal challenges,” she said.
But the ruling was met with dismay from campaigners, who have long argued the scheme is unethical and ineffective.
“We are deeply disappointed by the outcome of this case. If the Government proceeds with these harmful plans, it will damage the UK’s reputation as a country that values human rights and supports people fleeing conflict and persecution.” undermine our commitment to providing protection to refugees, as established in the 1951 Refugee Convention,” Enver Solomon, chief refugee council executive, said in a statement.
“Treating those who are seeking safety as human cargo and deporting them to another country is a cruel policy that will cause great human suffering,” Solomon said. “The plan is wrong in principle and impractical in practice.”
The number of people making the perilous journey across the English Channel in small boats has risen in recent years, with 2022 once again seeing a record high despite the government insisting that the Rwandan policy will act as a deterrent. Will do
It remains to be seen whether the policy will now work effectively; The prospect of individual claims from migrants still threatens to derail Sunak’s plans to get the policy off the ground.
But the decision will be welcomed by the government, which has sunk in popularity and lost the trust of most voters on a number of issues, according to opinion polls.