The UK High Court said today that the UK authorities’ policy in Rwanda is unlawful.
Sasha Deshmukh of Amnesty International UK responded to the news:
“This ruling is vital to protecting people seeking asylum in this country, but the Government must now bring an end to a shameful chapter in the UK’s political history.”
“The agreement with Rwanda – a country with a history of gross human rights violations, such as arbitrary detention, torture and suppression of freedom of expression – was very poorly received and was harsh.”
The government and the new Minister of the Interior must now abandon the idea of reaching an agreement with Rwanda. They must also repeal the underlying policy that prevents asylum claims from being processed. This also applies to the Illegal Immigration Law, which enshrined this abhorrent policy.
“These policies have left the UK asylum system in complete disarray, and this shameful deal has only served to exacerbate the chaos.”
“The only responsible, effective and appropriate response to this decision is to get serious about conducting a fair and effective assessment of people’s asylum claims.”
The idea of the UK withdrawing from the European Treaty to implement this failed policy is illogical and not an option. The government must make policy consistent with the law, not make the law consistent with its policy.
