We welcome the UK Supreme Court’s judgment which has found the so called ‘Rwanda Plan’ to be unlawful. The UK Government must now urgently rethink its [Illegal] Migration Act and scrap this cruel, immoral and wasteful policy.
The Rwanda Plan was designed so that the UK could outsource its asylum system to Rwanda. The Rwandan asylum system would determine whether a person was a refugee, and refugees would be expected to stay in Rwanda with no prospect of returning to the UK.
The UK Supreme Court has concluded that Rwanda is not a safe country to which the UK can send asylum seekers. It found that the Plan was a violation of article 3 ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights) either as a result of deficiencies in the asylum system with a consequent real risk of refoulement or in Rwanda itself.
We consistently argued that these plans were unacceptable in the way they treated people, removing their rights and denying their dignity and humanity.
Now – following the UK Supreme Court’s decision, the UK Government must urgently rethink its [Illegal] Migration Act and its intentionally hostile approach towards people who are seeking refuge in our country.
Seeking safety is a right, not a crime.
Time and time again, these cruel policies have been proved to be unlawful, expensive and ultimately ineffective in delivering the aims of reducing irregular migration.
We believe that it’s necessary to stop Channel crossings. They are dangerous and result in needless loss of life. The right response is to create more safe, dignified, and legal routes to the UK. The recent success of safe, legal routes for Ukrainian and Hong Kong refugees show this can be done.
The UK Government must now completely abandon the Rwanda deal – and any others like it – before doing any more damage to our international reputation or to the people threatened by such inhumane plans.
We urge the UK Government to work with the wider sector to create an asylum system that is compassionate, effective and fair, which upholds the rule of law, and is a consistent expression of our values as a just and welcoming society.
