John Adoyi, PBA Journalism MenteeA court ruling in the United Kingdom that declared UK sending of asylum seekers to Rwanda unlawful has been rejected by the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.
The Prime Minister who released a statement immediately the judges gave their verdict, vowed to appeal the ruling.
He said “While I respect the court, I fundamentally disagree with their conclusions,” the PM stated.
The policy which the UK government said it was “intended to deter people from making dangerous journeys to the UK to claim asylum, which are facilitated by criminal smugglers” was rejected by the appeal court which voted 2-1 to hammer a blow to the government’s plan.
According to the Judges, Rwanda is not a “safe third country” for asylum seekers due to the deficiencies in the Rwandan asylum system.
According to the Judges, there are possibilities that if people are flown to Rwanda to apply for asylum, they will be sent back to their countries.
“I strongly believe the Rwandan government has provided the assurances necessary to ensure there is no real risk that asylum seekers relocated under the Rwanda policy would be wrongly returned to third countries, something that the lord chief justice agrees with,” Prime Minister Sunak said in defense of the Rwandan asylum system.
He added “The policy of this government is very simple: it is this country – and your government – who should decide who comes here, not criminal gangs. And I will do whatever is necessary to make that happen.”
The Rwandan government also rejected the Court’s claim that it system is not sufficient for asylum seekers and refugees and that the East African country is not a safe third world country.
A spokesperson for the government of Rwanda said “While this is ultimately a decision for the UK’s judicial system, we do take issue with the ruling that Rwanda is not a safe country for asylum seekers and refugees.
“Rwanda is one of the safest countries in the world and we have been recognised by the UNHCR and other international institutions for our exemplary treatment of refugees.
“Rwanda remains fully committed to making this partnership work. The broken global migration system is failing to protect the vulnerable, and empowering criminal smuggling gangs at an immeasurable human cost. When the migrants do arrive, we will welcome them and provide them with the support they’ll need to build new lives in Rwanda,” the spokesperson said.
The UK Government under the leadership of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in April 2022, announced a memorandum of understanding it signed with the Rwandan government tagged the Migration and Economic Development Partnership which Prime Minister Johnson said “anyone entering the UK illegally – as well as those who have arrived illegally since January 1st – may now be relocated to Rwanda.”
According to the policy, the UK government will relocate all asylum seekers to Rwanda for them to process their application there. The asylum seekers will not be able to apply for asylum in the United Kingdom and those who were unable to get asylum in Rwanda, would be taken to countries that are safe for them.
This policy is meant to last for 5 years with an option of renewal.
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