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British Supreme Court Rules UK Can't Deport Refugees to Rwanda
"The only responsible, effective, and decent response to this judgement should be to get down to the serious task of fairly and efficiently determining people's claims," said one rights advocate.
Nov 15, 2023
Rights advocates in the United Kingdom on Wednesday called on the Conservative government to finally abandon its efforts to detain and deport asylum-seekers after the British Supreme Court ruled that a proposal to send refugees to the East African country of Rwanda violated domestic and international law and could not move forward.
Speaking for five justices on the court, Justice Robert Reed said the Supreme Court agreed with an earlier ruling by the British Court of Appeal, which had found that refugees sent to Rwanda faced a significant risk of refoulement, or being sent back to the countries where they originally fled persecution or violence.
"We agree with their conclusion," said Reed.
The judge pointed out that Britain follows the legal principle of non-refoulement under the United Nations Refugee Convention and several other international agreements.
"It is a core principle of international law, to which the United Kingdom government has repeatedly committed itself on the international stage," Reed said.
Despite this fact, former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda in 2022, and his successor, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, pledged to follow through on the effort.
The government has already paid Rwanda 140 million pounds (nearly $175 million) with the intention of deporting anyone who used "illegal, dangerous, or unnecessary methods" to reach the U.K., including on small boats. More than 45,000 people crossed the English Channel on small vessels in 2022.
A deportation flight was scheduled for June 14, 2022, but a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights forced the government to ground the plane, which was carrying a man who had sought refuge in England after leaving Iraq. Subsequent legal challenges kept other refugees from being sent to Rwanda.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who was fired this week after saying unhoused people had made a "lifestyle choice" and claiming London police were biased toward pro-Palestinian rights protesters, had said it was her "dream" to send refugees to Rwanda and had pushed for the U.K. to exit the European Convention on Human Rights in order to move forward with the policy.
"That 'dream' has just been ruled to be unlawful by the Supreme Court," said Member of Parliament Zarah Sultana. "Let's make sure that's the end of these cruel and callous anti-migrant policies."
Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, called the ruling one piece of good news in an "ocean of horrific sufferings."
Amnesty International U.K.'s chief executive, Sacha Deshmukh, called on new Home Secretary James Cleverly to "not only abandon the idea of doing a deal with Rwanda, but to scrap the underlying policy of refusing to process people's asylum claims and the Illegal Migration Act that has entrenched that dismal policy."
The law, which passed in July, states that anyone who arrives in the U.K. via small boats or other "unsafe" methods will have their asylum claim deemed "inadmissable."
"This policy has made complete chaos of the U.K.'s asylum system and this shameful deal has simply exacerbated the mess," said Deshmukh. "The only responsible, effective, and decent response to this judgement should be to get down to the serious task of fairly and efficiently determining people's claims."
"The idea that the U.K. should withdraw from the European Convention to pursue this failed policy is nonsensical and should be immediately binned," he added. "The government should make policies which fit with the law, not fit the law around their policies."
Nearly 130 U.K. rights organizations signed a joint statement on Wednesday welcoming the Supreme Court's ruling and and urging the government to "protect the rights of people who have come to our country in search of sanctuary."
"While we welcome the decision today, we remain concerned by this government's overall treatment of people who move to their country," said the groups, including the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), the Scottish Refugee Council, and the Muslim Council of Britain. "We know that as a community we are compassionate and welcoming, and we need immigration policies that are rooted in that same care, compassion, and respect for human rights."
The JCWI noted that Sunak's government could still try to move forward with the Rwanda deal "in a different form, such as a treaty which would need to go through Parliament."
"Our fight continues!" said the group. "Although immediate removal risks are reduced, challenges persist. Let's resist hostile policies and safeguard the universal right to seek asylum in the U.K."
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UK Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson Resigns Amid Relentless Scandal
"Real change can only come when the Tories are swept away and replaced with a people's government to redistribute wealth and power," said former Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Jul 07, 2022
Conservative British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation Thursday after dozens of his government ministers stepped down earlier this week, jumping ship as the U.K. leader was engulfed by scandal, backlash over skyrocketing costs of living, and other crises.
As the Associated Presssummarized, "Johnson, 58, managed to remain in power for almost three years, despite allegations that he was too close to party donors, that he protected supporters from bullying and corruption allegations, and that he misled Parliament and was dishonest to the public about government office parties that broke pandemic lockdown rules."
"But recent disclosures that Johnson knew about sexual misconduct allegations against Chris Pincher, a Conservative lawmaker, before he promoted Pincher to a senior position turned out to be the last straw," the AP added.
Johnson, who has also come under fire for badly mismanaging the U.K.'s coronavirus response and working against diplomatic efforts in Ukraine, said Thursday that he intends to stay on as a caretaker prime minister until a successor is chosen.
"I want to tell you how sorry I am to be giving up the best job in the world," Johnson told a crowd outside 10 Downing Street. "But them's the breaks."
With the resignation highly anticipated, progressive critics over recent days have said Johnson's ignoble ouster would be a fitting end for the right-wing politician reviled by so many.
\u201cWhat a sorry, undignified but very fitting end this is for a man who was happy to sacrifice his whole country for personal power.\u201d— Nick Dearden (@Nick Dearden) 1657144043
Nicola Sturgeon, first minister of Scotland, questioned whether it is "sustainable" for Johnson to remain prime minister until the fall.
"Boris Johnson was always manifestly unfit to be PM and the Tories should never have elected him leader or sustained him in office for as long as they have," Sturgeon said. "But the problems run much deeper than one individual. The Westminster system is broken."
In a statement, Labour Leader Keir Starmer declared that "it is good news for the country that Boris Johnson has resigned as prime minister."
"But it should have happened long ago," said Starmer. "He was always unfit for office. He has been responsible for lies, scandal, and fraud on an industrial scale. And all those who have been complicit should be utterly ashamed. The Tory Party have inflicted chaos upon the country during the worst cost of living crisis in decades. And they cannot now pretend they are the ones to sort it out."
"We don't need to change the Tory at the top--we need a proper change of government," he added. "We need a fresh start for Britain."
Former Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn sent a similar message earlier this week, writing on Twitter that "12 years of cruel Tory rule" has been "inflicting pain for the many to feather the beds of the few."
"Johnson should resign now," Corbyn added, "but real change can only come when the Tories are swept away and replaced with a people's government to redistribute wealth and power."
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Extinction Rebellion Vows to Fill the Streets in Response to UK's New Protest Limits
"It is foolish to think that announcing new curbs in the Queen's Speech will stop people taking to the streets to demand their government act to ensure a safe future."
May 11, 2022
The climate movement Extinction Rebellion on Wednesday revealed plans to bring millions of people into the United Kingdom's streets on September 10 in response to the government's latest efforts to enact new limits on protest.
"Our organizations were set up to break the law to drive positive change. Your actions show that we are winning."
In the Queen's Speech--which outlines the government's priorities at the ceremony to open a new session of Parliament--Prince Charles on Tuesday announced the Public Order Bill containing anti-protest measures that the House of Lords last year rejected as "draconian and anti-democratic."
Charlie Waterhouse of Extinction Rebellion (XR) said in a statement that "it is foolish to think that announcing new curbs in the Queen's Speech will stop people taking to the streets to demand their government act to ensure a safe future for people in the U.K. and around the world."
"As we in Extinction Rebellion know full well: what we do works," he continued. "It's worked countless times before. It has worked to give us weekends and the vote, human rights, and freedom. And it will work again. Faced with a government incapable of anything other than a desperate attempt to shore up its own power and cover up its criminality it is the only thing we can do. To be a bystander is not enough."
\u201cAs @BorisJohnson and @pritipatel continue their radical disruption and destruction to the planet by continuing to enable&fund new fossil fuel projects \n\nThe people will respond with acts of care by standing in resistance. \n\nJoin us in September. \ud83d\udc47\n\nhttps://t.co/ZdHZWIBPK0\u201d— Extinction Rebellion UK \ud83c\udf0d (@Extinction Rebellion UK \ud83c\udf0d) 1652256444
Waterhouse noted that "w hen juries are asked to sit in judgment of their peers, they are acquitting. The government's increasing reliance on private injunctions shows that they know they cannot rely on the courts, because the courts agree with us."
"So Boris Johnson and Priti Patel, we thank you," he added, taking aim at the U.K.'s Tory prime minister and home secretary. "Our organizations were set up to break the law to drive positive change. Your actions show that we are winning."
Plans to take to the streets in opposition to the looming anti-protest measures--which clearly target not only Extinction Rebellion but also Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil (JSO)--follow a wave of climate actions in the U.K. and around the world last month.
The actions in April included XR members blocking multiple London bridges, scientists gluing climate research and their own hands to the windows of a U.K. government building, and Just Stop Oil campaigners shutting down terminals across the United Kingdom.
XR's Wednesday statement highlighted YouGov polling from April which showed that 58% of U.K. adults support the demands of Just Stop Oil, with just 23% opposed and 19% neutral, and in a three-week period, the number of respondents who said they are likely to engage in some form of climate action over the next year jumped from 8.7% to 11.3%--an increase of approximately 1.7 million people.
\u201c'Far be it for us to read our own room, but it would seem that the appetite for getting arrested is only going up.'\n\n@ExtinctionR's Charlie Waterhouse in @ipaperviews on how the Public Order Bill won't stop XR, @InsulateLove or @JustStop_Oil protesters\n\nhttps://t.co/gMnlS1lofo\u201d— Aimee Meade (@Aimee Meade) 1652196084
The Guardian reported Tuesday that the anti-protest measures include:
- New criminal offenses of locking on, and going equipped to lock on to others, objects, or buildings--carrying a maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment and an unlimited fine;
- The creation of a new criminal offense of interfering with key national infrastructure, such as airports, railways, and printing presses--carrying a maximum sentence of 12 months in prison and an unlimited fine; and
- Measures to make it illegal to obstruct major transport works, including disrupting the construction or maintenance of projects like HS2--punishable by up to six months in prison and an unlimited fine.
"The bill is expected to extend stop and search powers so the police can seize articles related to these new offenses," the newspaper noted. "New preventive 'serious disruption prevention orders' will also be available for repeat offenders."
XR wasn't alone in responding with alarm to the anti-protest measures and other priorities addressed in the speech, including repealing the Human Rights Act and replacing it with a narrower Bill of Rights.
"This highly regressive legislative agenda represents a systematic gutting of key legal protections for ordinary people," Amnesty International U.K. CEO Sacha Deshmukh said broadly before blasting the Public Order Bill. "It's frightening to see the home secretary demonizing people who are simply exercising their right to peaceful protest."
"These authoritarian provisions, recently removed by the Lords from the policing bill, are similar to repressive policies in countries the U.K. regularly criticizes--including Russia, Hong Kong, and Belarus," Deshmukh added. "It follows a pattern of a government voicing support for protest around the world but cracking down on the right to speak up here at home."
\u201cI wonder if it\u2019s ever occurred to Boris Johnson to introduce laws to target the #ClimateEmergency rather than laws to target peaceful protesters https://t.co/pgN0LZkGpI\u201d— Caroline Lucas (@Caroline Lucas) 1652168803
Sam Grant, head of policy and campaigns at the human rights group Liberty, said Tuesday that "these rehashed measures to crack down on protest in today's Queen's speech are yet another power grab from a government determined to shut down accountability."
"Protest is a right, not a gift from the state--and measures like these are designed to stop ordinary people making their voices heard," the campaigner continued. "Parliamentarians and the general public rejected these dangerous measures when they were first rushed through in the policing bill, but the government has refused to listen.
"From restrictions on protest to scrapping the Human Rights Act," Grant warned, "this is all part of the government's continued attempts to rewrite the rules so only they can win, and prevent ordinary people from having their say."
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