U.K. Plan to Send Asylum Seekers to Rwanda Is Unlawful, Supreme Court Rules

Britain’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful, delivering a major blow to the Conservative government, which has long described the plan as central to its pledge to stop small boat arrivals.

Justice Robert Reed, one of the five judges who heard the case, said that the court supported an earlier decision by the Court of Appeal declaring the policy unlawful, saying simply, “We agree with their conclusion.”

Justice Reed pointed to a risk of “refoulement” if asylum seekers had their claims heard in Rwanda, meaning that genuine refugees could be returned to their countries of origin and face potential violence, in a violation of both domestic and international law.

The judge made the caveat that while proper protections may be put in place in the future, “they have not been shown to be in place now.”

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