UK’s Sunak to learn the fate of his Rwanda migrant plan this week

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom will announce its verdict over whether or not the government is allowed to move forward with its plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. This decision might have far-reaching implications for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his administration.

At hearings in October, government attorneys argued that the highest court should reverse a verdict that said the plan to transport thousands of asylum seekers more than 4,000 miles (6,400 km) to East Africa was unconstitutional because Rwanda was not a safe third nation. The proceedings took place in response to a ruling that found the plan to deport the asylum seekers to be unlawful.

Sunak harbors the expectation that the Rwanda plan would be able to halt the flow of migrants crossing the Channel from Europe in tiny boats, allowing him to fulfill one of his most crucial policy commitments and revitalizing his flagging leadership in front of an election that is slated to take place the following year.

With his Conservative Party trailing by almost 20 points in the polls and immigration being a big worry for some people, the government would latch on to a victory in the Supreme Court as a sign that it was getting to grips with the immigration issue. This is because immigration is a primary concern for sure voters. The loss would be regarded as yet another unsuccessful attempt.

After Sunak upset some on the right of his party on Monday by firing Suella Braverman, a vocal critic of the treaty, from her position as the minister in charge of the issue, the decision of the court could also magnify calls from some Conservative lawmakers for Britain to pull out of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). This is especially true after Sunak upset some on the right of his party by firing Suella Braverman from her position as the minister in charge of the issue.

The Supreme Court has handed down several significant decisions that have gone against the government in recent years, the most notable of which is the conclusion that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson violated the law when he suspended parliament in 2019.

On Wednesday, at 1000 GMT, the court’s five most senior judges, including Robert Reed, who also serves as its president, will hand down their verdict.

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Hearings lasted for three days, during which government attorneys spoke before the justices and asserted a “serious and pressing need” for the Rwanda program.

They said Rwanda was “less attractive” to individuals coming to Britain, which is why the program would be a deterrent. At the same time, the pact negotiated with the East African country would ensure that the human rights of migrants deported there would be safeguarded.

“There is a strong public interest in deterring illegal, dangerous, and unnecessary journeys from safe third countries to the UK while ensuring that those who continue to make such journeys are removed to a safe third country,” the researchers stated.

Rwanda has clarified that it intends to provide British migrants with the option to start over in a secure environment.

However, attorneys representing asylum seekers from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Vietnam, and Sudan who face the possibility of being deported to Rwanda contended that it was illegal to send individuals there because it would violate the European Convention on Human Rights and put them in danger of being repatriated to their home countries despite having legitimate asylum claims.

In addition, they claimed that those seeking asylum in Rwanda suffered inhumane or humiliating treatment. The United Nations organization in charge of refugees supports this assertion.

In April 2022, while Boris Johnson was still Prime Minister, he agreed with Rwanda to discourage asylum seekers from making the dangerous trek over the Channel. Sunak has made ending the flood of refugees one of his top five goals as he works to turn his and his party’s fortunes around.

James Cleverly, who has since replaced Braverman as Interior Minister, announced X, once known as Twitter. “We will stop the boats,” he stated.

After a record 45,755 individuals were found to have illegally entered the country in 2022, more than 27,000 people landed in Britain on small boats without authority this year.

The plan was put on hold in June of the previous year after the European Court of Human Rights issued an injunction at the eleventh hour, preventing the first planned flight. That directive is no longer valid at this point.