Kigali, 19 November, 2023 / 9:52 pm (ACI Africa).
The development and humanitarian arm of the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), has welcomed the United Kingdom’s (UK) Supreme Court ruling against the country’s plan to send asylum seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda.
On Thursday, November 16, UK’s apex court unanimously ruled that the Rwandan asylum plan was unlawful. The Supreme Court President said there was strong evidence to believe that refugees could be at risk of being returned to their home countries if the Rwandan asylum plan went through.
The UK government announced that it struck a deal with Rwanda to send illegal migrants crossing the Channel river from France to the East African nation in April 2022. UK former Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the £120m Rwanda asylum plan would save lives from human trafficking.
In a November 16 statement, CAFOD Head of Campaigns said the court ruling “makes clear that we have a moral and legal duty to care for migrants and refugees.”
Ms. Aisha Dodwell said the Rwanda plan “was a cruel attempt to turn away people who are seeking protection.”
