R (AAA (Syria) & ors) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] UKSC 42
What was at stake
Safety of Rwanda, third country removals; non-refoulement; systemic risks
What happened
Individual asylum seekers (AAA from Syria, AHA from Syria, AT from Iran, AAM from Syria, NSK from Iraq, and others) traveled to the UK in small boats or by lorry. The Home Secretary declared their asylum claims inadmissible and intended to remove them to Rwanda under the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP), where their asylum claims would be decided by Rwandan authorities. The claimants challenged both the general lawfulness of the Rwanda policy and the Home Secretary's individual removal decisions.
What the court decided
Unanimously held the Rwanda policy unlawful due to real risk of refoulement and deficiencies in asylum system; catalysed parliamentary push for 'Safety of Rwanda' legislation.
How the court got there
The Supreme Court unanimously held the Rwanda policy unlawful because substantial grounds existed for believing asylum seekers removed to Rwanda would face real risk of refoulement—being returned to countries where they face persecution—due to deficiencies in Rwanda's asylum system. This would breach Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. The court held that unless Rwanda corrects the deficiencies in its asylum processes, removal of asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful under section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998.
Statutes and cases cited
- § Human Rights Act 1998 s.6
- § ECHR art.3
- § Asylum Procedures Directive
- § Immigration Rules paras 345A-345D
Categories
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