President Paul Kagame’s administration on Thursday, November 16 called out the UK Supreme Court after it termed Rwanda as an unsafe country for asylum seekers.
In a statement, Rwanda noted that the Supreme Court verdict was based on assumptions.
Rwanda insisted that it was a welcoming nation despite how the UK Supreme Court painted the nation.
“While this was ultimately a decision for the UK’s judicial system, we take issue with the ruling that Rwanda is not a safe country for asylum seekers and refugees. Given Rwanda’s welcoming policy and our record of caring for refugees, the political judgments made today were unjustified,” Rwanda’s statement read in part.
“The examples raised in court to support the ruling were insensitive to violations of international humanitarian law ongoing in many parts of the world. The court relied on extreme and speculative concerns based on the hypocritical criticisms of the UNHCR, which has on numerous occasions expressed its appreciation of Rwanda’s inclusive refugee policies, qualifying them as “exemplary”. For example, their claim of “100 per cent rejection rate” of asylum seekers from some parts of the world is dishonest – a total of two individuals from Syria and Yemen were indeed not considered for asylum because there was a faster and more appropriate path to legal residence, and these individuals are currently living and working in Rwanda,” it added.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday, November 15 ruled unanimously against the government dealing a potentially fatal blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s flagship migration policy.
Its ruling unambiguously dismantled the government’s appeal, and scuppers an effort to fly asylum seekers who arrive in the UK illegally to the east African nation. The plan was first announced in April 2022, but has been wrought with legal challenges and has failed to deport a single person.
Judges found that Rwanda could not be considered a safe country to which to send asylum seekers, as the government has argued, because there was a risk that genuine refugees would be returned to the countries they had fled from.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated the decision would be subjected to further legal scrutiny.
Photo|Courtesy.
