LGBTQ+ activists celebrate Supreme Court ruling UK government’s “evil” Rwanda scheme unlawful
The UK’s highest court has rejected the government’s plans to deport people seeking asylum to Rwanda, much to the relief of LGBTQIA+ rights campaigners, organisations and charities.
The country’s dire track record on human rights, especially in relation to LGBTQIA+ people, resulted in widespread condemnation of the policy as soon as it was announced in April 2022.
These ultimately factored into the Supreme Court ruling it unlawful earlier today, with its past treatment of refugees also cited in the decision. “The evidence shows that there are substantial grounds for believing that there is a real risk that asylum claims will not be determined properly, and that asylum seekers will therefore be at risk of being returned directly or indirectly to their country of origin,” Lord Reed, the court’s president, said while announcing the “unanimous” judgement. “The changes and capacity-building needed to eliminate that risk may be delivered in the future, but they were not shown to be in place when the lawfulness of the Rwanda policy had to be considered in these proceedings.” No asylum seeker was ever sent to Rwanda under the scheme, which was one of Rishi Sunak’s key immigration policies, as the first scheduled flight in June of last year was cancelled in response to an array of legal challenges. “This government should be ashamed that it even considered this evil idea” Its rejection by the Supreme Court is now being hailed as “a day for national celebration” by LGBTQIA+ rights groups and activists.
Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, has been a longtime opponent of the policy. “The Tories shouldn’t need a court to tell them that sending refugees thousands of miles away, to a country known for human rights abuses, is morally reprehensible.
