I can assure you that the Government fundamentally believes that it is only by removing the incentive for people to take dangerous and unnecessary journeys that the Government will stop the boats and end the vicious cycle of people smuggling to the UK. This is why the Government signed the ground breaking migration and economic development partnership with Rwanda last year. The agreement allows individuals who arrive in the UK through dangerous, unnecessary and illegal routes to be relocated to Rwanda for the consideration of their asylum claim and to build a new life there.
Last year, the High Court upheld the lawfulness of the partnership and confirmed that Rwanda is a safe country, however, this judgment was appealed to the Court of Appeal. Unanimously, the Court of Appeal confirmed that removing asylum seekers to a safe country is entirely consistent with the Refugee Convention, including Article 31.
The Court of Appeal found that it is lawful, in principle, for the Government to relocate people who come to the UK illegally to a safe third country; that the Government can designate countries as safe; and that our processes for determining eligibility for relocation are fair. However, two judges were of the view that there were deficiencies in the Rwanda asylum system that risked a breach of article 3 of the European convention on human rights.
Importantly, their concerns were not that conditions in Rwanda would be unsafe, but that there was a possibility that they could be returned to other countries from Rwanda where they may suffer ill treatment. It is therefore simply incorrect to say that the Court has found that conditions in Rwanda make it unsafe for individuals there. The Court of Appeal has merely ruled that there is a risk of refoulement from Rwanda to other countries. I am also aware that the Lord Chief Justice agreed with the High Court, and held that there was no real risk of individuals being sent to unsafe countries. However, the result is that the High Court’s decision that Rwanda was a safe third country for the purposes of asylum relocation is reversed.
I share the views of the Home Secretary that this was a disappointing judgment and I am glad that the decision was appealed to the Supreme Court. The court has now heard the case and I understand that a judgement will come later this year.
It is unfair on those who play by the rules, and who want to see an asylum system that is fit for purpose, that our current system is exploited by those who have no right to be in the UK. The partnership with Rwanda is the only way to stop the boats and break the business model of people smugglers to save lives.