Rwanda: UK Supreme Court to Issue Ruling On Rwanda Migrant Plan Next Week

10 November 2023

The United Kingdom's Supreme Court will, on Wednesday, November 15, deliver its ruling on whether the country can go ahead with its plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Inked in 2022, the agreement concerns all the migrants and asylum seekers who arrived in the UK illegally from January 1, 2022, aiming at relocating them to Rwanda where they will be "empowered through different initiatives."

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The government of Rwanda referred to it as "a bold new partnership" with the UK which will take an innovative approach to addressing the global migration crisis which involves incentive structures which empower criminal gangs and endanger innocent lives.

Since it was signed, the deal has faced several court petitions against it, the latest of which is the one in the Supreme Court.

In April this year, London's Court of Appeal said the scheme was unlawful because Rwanda was not a safe country. Later in October, UK government lawyers challenged the decision in the country's Supreme Court.

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After hearing the case, five judges, including the Supreme Court President Robert Reed, will give their ruling on Wednesday, November 15.

"The judgment in the above case will be handed down in the Supreme Court on Wednesday 15 November 2023 shortly after 10 a.m.," the court said.

This year more than 26,500 people arrived in Britain on small boats without permission, after a record 45,755 were detected in 2022.

The UK government told the Supreme Court there was a "serious and pressing need" for the Rwanda scheme, and that the deal with Rwanda would ensure migrants were treated well.

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