UNESCO RILA responds to Rwanda judgement
Published: 19 December 2022
Today, a court judgement has “concluded that, it is lawful for the government to make arrangements for relocating asylum seekers to Rwanda and for their asylum claims to be determined in Rwanda rather than in the United Kingdom”. Read UNESCO RILA's response to this judgement here.
Despite being warned by the UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection that the Rwanda Deal is “contrary to the letter and spirit of the Refugee Convention”, the UK and Rwanda nevertheless signed an agreement to send people seeking asylum in the UK to Rwanda. While the UK government has faced persistent national and international outcry, successive Home Secretaries have left no stone unturned to implement the deal.
To counter this discriminatory re-interpretation of the Refugee Convention, a judicial review was brought against the government various groups on behalf of people seeking asylum in the UK to challenge the Home Secretary’s decision to transport people against their will to a country hundreds of miles away, on another continent, with a poor track record on human rights and limited capacity to make complex decision on asylum claims (see Human Rights Watch's Rwanda dossier).
Today, a High Court judgement has “concluded that, it is lawful for the government to make arrangements for relocating asylum seekers to Rwanda and for their asylum claims to be determined in Rwanda rather than in the United Kingdom”. In response to this decision, UNESCO RILA acknowledges the decision of the court within UK domestic law but strongly supports the view of the UNHCR that the UK is in breach of its “international obligations and fails to meet the required standards relating to the legality and appropriateness of transfers of asylum-seekers”.
We call on the Home Secretary to stop the colonial temptation of building hierarchies between people based on their routes and roots. It is imperative that the UK government continues to uphold its commitments to human rights, human dignity, non-violence, and international obligations.
UNESCO RILA stands in solidarity with people seeking asylum who have sought sanctuary in the UK and are now worried that their right to seek asylum might be jeopardised. It joins with the people and organisations defending the rights and dignity of people seeking asylum.
First published: 19 December 2022