UK Supreme Court Rules Government’s Rwanda Asylum Policy Illegal

The UK's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday (November 15) that the British government's Rwanda asylum policy was unlawful.

Rishi Sunak's government said its plan to deport asylum seekers to East Africa and ban them from returning was needed to deter illegal small boat crossings.

UK Supreme Court Rules Government’s Rwanda Asylum Policy Illegal

(Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images) Protestors hold placards as they wait for the verdict on whether the UK Government can send refugee migrants to Rwanda, as they gather outside The Supreme Court on November 15, 2023, in London, England. The UK's Court of Appeal declared the government's deportation scheme to Rwanda unlawful in June 2023, citing concerns about the country's safety.

The five justices of the top British court unanimously ruled that it was possible the Rwandan government would send the refugees back to the country they had fled from, the BBC reported.

It also said the policy breached human rights laws by potentially leaving people sent there open to such a risk, a perception opposition politicians, refugee groups, and human rights organizations concur with.

UK's Apex Court Upholds Prior Appellate Court Ruling

Last June, the Court of Appeal ruled the policy - which the British and Rwandan governments signed a deal about in April 2022 - was unlawful.

The legal case against the policy hinged on the principle of "non-refoulement," where a person seeking asylum should not be returned to their country of origin if doing so would put them at risk of harm. The principle of non-refoulement was established under both UK and international human rights law.

The Supreme Court's ruling effectively upheld the Court of Appeal's decision on the matter, saying that there were "substantial grounds" to believe people deported to Rwanda could then be sent to places they would be unsafe by the Rwandan government.