The UK’s controversial plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful, the Court of Appeal ruled on Thursday in a setback for the government as it tries to push through its the hard-line policy to curb illegal migration.
The Court of Appeal ruled against the government’s flagship policy that involves flying refugees who arrive in Britain on small boats some 4,000 miles (6,437.4 kilometers) to the central African nation for processing. Sending asylum seekers to Rwanda will violate the European Convention on Human Rights, which the government must comply with, the judges said in the two-to-one split decision.
“The result is that the high court’s decision that Rwanda was a safe third country is reversed and that unless and until the deficiencies in its asylum processes are corrected removal of asylum-seekers to Rwanda will be unlawful,” the judges ruled.
