The United Kingdom Supreme Court has ruled against its government’s intention to send refugees to Rwanda, arguing that it is not safe because asylum seekers could easily be returned to their home country, known as refoulement, which would breach international human rights laws.

The Supreme Court drew attention to Rwanda’s poor human rights record, including threats to Rwandans living in the UK, extrajudicial killings, deaths in custody, and enforced
disappearances, torture, and restrictions on media and political freedoms.

More than a year ago, the UK and Rwanda agreed to a scheme to have asylum seekers who had traveled through the English Channel to the UK shipped to Rwanda as a host country.

However, the UK Supreme Court issued its judgment on November 15, 2023, ruling that the scheme would put asylum seekers at risk of ill treatment because they could be sent back to their home countries once in Rwanda.

The Court noted that, under the plan, they might have been granted refugee status to stay in Rwanda. If not, they could have applied to settle there on other grounds or sought asylum in another safe third country.

Following the ruling, the British government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said that it was not the outcome they wanted, but despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, he pledged to stop migrants reaching Britain in small boats across the English Channel.

He vowed to send the first deportation flights to Rwanda by next spring.

“We have seen the judgment, and we will now consider next steps. It is not the outcome we wanted, but we have spent the last few months planning for all eventualities, and we remain completely committed to stopping the boats,” said Sunak.

The UK government said the policy would deter people arriving in the UK through illegal, dangerous, or unnecessary methods, such as on small boats that cross the English Channel.

Adding to that, more than 45,700 people used this route to come to the UK in 2022, the highest figure since records began.

However, in a statement released by the Rwandan government on November 15, 2023, it refuted the court’s ruling, calling it unjust on the grounds that Rwanda is a safe country for asylum seekers and refugees given its welcoming policy and record of caring for refugees.

“The examples raised in court to support the ruling were insensitive to violations of international humanitarian law ongoing in many parts of the world. The court relied on extreme and speculative concerns based on hypocritical criticisms of the United Nations High Commission of Refugees (UNHCR),” reads the statement in part.

Rwanda vowed to continue focusing on working with the UK on a binding treaty to re-emphasize the already existing quarantines required for the partnership to succeed.

According to the UK government, no asylum seeker has been sent to Rwanda yet, as the first flight was cancelled in June 2022 after legal challenges.