EU states look on as UK top court throws out Rwanda asylum deal

The UK Supreme Court has struck down the government’s controversial ‘cash for asylum seekers’ deal with Rwanda, in a landmark ruling that could shape how EU countries and the European Commission broker their own agreements with third countries on migration.

The ruling is a major blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has made strict migration control one of his government’s top priorities.

Setting out the court’s judgment on Wednesday (15 November), Lord Reed, the president of the supreme court, said the judges agreed unanimously with the court of appeal ruling that there was a real risk of claims being wrongly determined in Rwanda, resulting in asylum seekers being wrongly returned to their country of origin.

He pointed to evidence from the United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, which highlighted the failure of a similar deportation agreement between Israel and Rwanda.

Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed a £140 million deal with Paul Kagame’s government in 2022 under which asylum seekers would be flown to Rwanda where their asylum claims would be assessed. However, no deportations have taken place following a series of legal challenges.

The first planned Rwanda deportation flight was blocked a year ago in a last-minute ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which imposed an injunction preventing any deportations until the conclusion of legal action in Britain.

In an assessment of the legislation putting the programme into law, the UK’s appeal court ruled in June that deficiencies in Rwanda’s asylum system meant there were substantial grounds for believing that those sent there would be returned to their home nations where they face “persecution or other inhumane treatment”.

The appeal court reversed a previous High Court ruling that classified Rwanda as a safe third country, a decision which the Supreme Court has confirmed.

“This was 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,” Sunak said in a statement.

“Crucially, the Supreme Court – like the court of appeal and the high court before it – has confirmed that the principle of sending illegal migrants to a safe third country for processing is lawful,” he added.

The court ruling is likely to prompt increased pressure on Sunak from his Conservative party MPs to withdraw the UK from the ECHR, a Strasbourg-based court which is linked to the Council of Europe, an international rights watchdog.

It could also have implications for the EU.

Last week, interior ministers from the UK and Austria signed a cooperation deal to work together on ‘third country’ asylum schemes.

The German government, meanwhile, has announced plans to review whether asylum application processing can be outsourced to third countries, while Italy unveiled its own deal with Albania to accommodate irregular migrants.

The EU executive has stated that the plans of Austria – or, indeed, any other EU member – to offshore asylum to a third country is not possible under EU law.

“Currently, EU asylum law applies only to applications made on the territory of a member state but not outside,” a Commission spokesperson told reporters on 7 November.

However, the Commission has sought to broker agreements with Tunisia and Egypt in recent months that would include investment and EU border control support in exchange for the North African states curbing migrant crossings over the Mediterranean Sea.

“It will be a great relief for many that the Supreme Court has ruled against this inhumane scheme, which sought to punish rather than protect those fleeing conflict and persecution,” said Katy Chakrabortty, head of policy and advocacy at Oxfam GB.

“The government now needs to look again at its asylum policies. The only solution to stop people risking their lives on dangerous small-boat crossings is for the government to open more safe and legal routes for those seeking asylum,” she added.

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]