Northern Ireland is taking a stand
Sunak’s Rwanda deportation plans receive further setback
May 14, 2024, 3:24 a.m
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The British government wants to outsource the asylum system to Rwanda, and Parliament has approved a corresponding law. The High Court in Belfast has decided that the deportation law will not apply in Northern Ireland.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing another setback after months of controversy over his deportation policy. A judge in Northern Ireland ruled that parts of a migrant deportation law would significantly restrict the rights of asylum seekers. According to the judge at the High Court in Belfast, they should therefore not be used in the British part of the country. Northern Ireland has its own justice system.
The British government no longer wants to give migrants who come to the island irregularly the opportunity to apply for asylum after they have entered the country. Instead, they should be able to be deported to a third country such as Rwanda. A deal stipulates that they then apply for asylum there.
The conservative government wants to prevent people from crossing the English Channel. The highest court in Great Britain declared the asylum pact with Rwanda unlawful a few months ago, but Parliament nevertheless approved the plan at the end of April. Critics accuse the East African country of human rights violations.
A judge in the British part of Northern Ireland has now ruled that some parts of last year’s so-called Illegal Migration Act violate both rules that were created for Northern Ireland because of Brexit and the European Convention on Human Rights.
The central government in London wants to appeal against this and is sticking to its schedule, reported the PA news agency. Sunak’s government had already secured its plan a few weeks ago with another law in which Rwanda was declared a safe third country. The first deportations are scheduled to take place in July. The Northern Irish party DUP warned that Northern Ireland should not become a magnet for asylum seekers who want to avoid deportation. The Catholic-Republican Sinn Fein welcomed the court’s decision against it.