British Supreme Court: Sending asylum seekers to Rwanda is illegal

What was tested was whether British asylum operations in Rwanda should be handled while the UK covers the costs.

The agreement signed by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson in April 2022 was considered, according to a previous court decision, illegal, which is now confirmed by a unanimous ruling in the Supreme Court. This is because Rwanda is not considered safe and there is a risk that asylum seekers will be returned to the countries they fled. This was questioned by Yolande Makolo, spokesman for the Rwandan government, who believes it is adhering to its international obligations, Reuters reported.

Following the ruling, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government was now considering the next step.

He added: “This was not the outcome we wanted, but we have spent the last few months planning for all eventualities and remain determined to stop the boats.”

The European Court stopped him

The agreement came when the British government wanted to reduce the number of asylum seekers in the country. They also want to discourage people from entering the country by boat via the English Channel, a route considered dangerous.

The first asylum seekers were due to be sent from the UK to Rwanda in mid-June 2022, but were stopped when the European Court overturned several transfer orders.

It has been discussed in other countries

Similar issues have been discussed in Sweden, where the Sweden Democrats proposed that the asylum process within EU countries take place in a safe country outside the EU.

This issue has also been discussed in other European countries, such as Denmark and Austria. Italy recently signed an agreement with Albania to process Italian asylum processes there.

– Ideas exist in many places, but they have not yet been implemented, says Pontus Mattsson, a correspondent for Radio Sveriges in London. Morning studio.