Harare — The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom said on Wednesday, October 11, that it will not rule on the government's request to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda for a few months, Reuters reports.
Over the course of three days this week, attorneys representing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government have argued that the court should reverse a June decision that found the plan to transfer thousands of asylum seekers more than 4,000 miles (6,400 km) to East Africa was illegal because Rwanda was not a secure third country.
The court's five justices will now decide whether to move through with the Rwanda plan, which Sunak hopes will prevent migrants from travelling in small boats across the Channel from Europe. This is one of his main policy promises as his Conservative Party continues to trail in the polls. Government attorneys emphasised the "serious and pressing need" for the plan throughout the hearing. However, attorneys defending asylum seekers facing deportation to Rwanda from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Vietnam, and Sudan contended that such an action would violate the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The refugee agency of the United Nations also took part in the appeal, and its attorneys reiterated their "unequivocal warning against the transfer of asylum seekers to Rwanda". The British government claims that guarantees granted imply that asylum seekers will be treated well, while the Rwandan government said that it will provide migrants sent from Britain with the chance to start over in a new, safe life.
The case is being heard against the backdrop of the public immigration debate in Britain, which had a role in the country's 2016 referendum vote to exit the European Union. More than 25,000 individuals have entered Britain illegally on tiny boats this year, surpassing the record 45,755 that were found in 2022. Sunak has listed "stop the boats" as one of his five key goals in an effort to turn around his party's prospects. As of now, his Conservatives are behind in surveys by roughly 20 points ahead of an election that is anticipated to take place next year.
In April 2022, then-prime minister Boris Johnson announced the Rwanda plan, which aimed to discourage asylum seekers from taking the perilous trek from Europe across the Channel. In a report released on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 Human Rights Watch said Rwanda had demonstrated "contempt for human rights norms" and urged Britain to cancel its plan.
