In April 2022, the UK government planned to forcibly remove people seeking asylum to Rwanda, trampling over their human rights, weakening the rule of law and putting people at risk of inhuman and degrading treatment.
The Government planned to:
- have impossibly tight timeframes for people to prepare their case
- risk people being removed without effective legal advice
- treat Rwanda as a “safe third country” when evidence shows it is not
- side-step its own commitment to case-by-case decisions
“Most of those facing removal were in detention. They were given just seven days after the notice of intent to find a lawyer, understand what was happening to them, give instructions and put forward any evidence or arguments against removal. This was obviously too short a period.”
Alison Pickup, CEO of Asylum Aid
The procedure used by the Home Office to decide who to send was deliberately designed to be quick. At Asylum Aid, we were determined to stop this unfair practice.
13-14 October 2022: we challenged the government in the High Court.
We argued that the process of removing people to Rwanda is unfair. It gives people seeking asylum an impossibly short time span – just 7 days if they are in detention – to prepare their case and get to Court, with no right to make representations on the general safety of Rwanda. People seeking safety didn't have enough time to access effective legal representation.
DECEMBER 2022: THE HIGH COURT DISMISSED OUR CHALLENGE TO THE PROCEDURE USED TO DECIDE WHO TO SEND TO RWANDA
Unfortunately, they upheld the lawfulness of the policy of sending inadmissible asylum seekers to Rwanda under the Migration and Economic Development Partnership. The High Court ruled that there was nothing inherently unfair about this short-cut timescale. The ruling said that individuals have no right to argue that Rwanda is generally unsafe, and they don’t need to have a lawyer to make their case.
30 JUNE 2023: WE WON
In June 2023, the Court of Appeal found that people seeking asylum must have a fair opportunity to make representations on all issues relevant to whether they can lawfully be removed. It also ruled that Rwanda is not a safe country for people seeking asylum and that no-one will be sent to Rwanda.
The Court noted that “if the relocation of asylum-seekers to Rwanda under the [Rwanda policy] involves a breach of their article 3 rights it would of course be unlawful as a result of section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998.”
Although the Court of Appeal found that the procedure was not unlawful, they upheld that it would be unlawful to send people seeking asylum to Rwanda because people could be sent back from Rwanda to countries where they fear persecution. They concluded that 7 days is not enough time for most people to make their case, and that they need effective access to legal advice. The Court upheld our arguments:
- People need effective access to legal advice in order to make representations against removal
- People should be able to make representations on all aspects of the decision to remove (including the general safety of the destination)
- Seven days will not normally be enough time for people to have a fair chance to do these things.
The Court of Appeal found that the Home Office could make the procedure operate fairly by adopting and publishing a policy that recognises these minimum requirements and that makes clear that extensions should be granted whenever this is necessary to ensure fairness.
The outcomes we have secured in the Court of Appeal are a major win for our clients, and for all people seeking asylum in the UK. They mean that any future procedure the Home Office might adopt to remove people seeking asylum to another country will have to be fairer.
December 2023: THE SUPREME COURT UPHELD THAT JUDGEMENT
The Supreme Court upheld that judgment in December 2023 and as a result no-one was sent to Rwanda.
JANUARY 2024: THE Safety of Rwanda Act 2024 was repealed
Following the change in government after the 2024 general election, the UK Government confirmed it would not continue with the Rwanda scheme.
Thanks for your support
We are incredibly grateful to have raised over £50,000 to support our legal fight. We are so thankful for all the support throughout our journey on this important case and could not have secured these gains for refugee rights in the UK without the vital help of our supporters.
Asylum Aid’s vision is that all those who come to the UK in need of protection obtain it, and are treated fairly and with dignity. Challenging the government’s Rwanda policy is a key part of achieving this vision, and we will continue to strategically engage in litigation when necessary as we work towards this.