UK-Rwanda asylum seekers deal faces first legal challenge
May 19, 2022, 5:19 pm

UK-Rwanda asylum seekers deal faces first legal challenge

Priti Patel defends plans to send unauthorised asylum seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda (Photo: Pixabay)

The Arab News reported, two refugees in the UK have instructed their lawyers to challenge British plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, marking the first legal test of the policy.

The two — an Eritrean man who arrived in February, and an Iranian who came in March — both entered on the back of a lorry and believe, with their asylum claims yet to receive a response from the Home Office, that they will be among the first extradited under the plans.

Instalaw will issue judicial review proceedings challenging the legality of the deal that Home Secretary Priti Patel signed with Rwanda this month.

The Times reported that the firm will use the argument that anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller made to block former Prime Minister Theresa May from triggering Article 50, and therefore Brexit, without first putting it to a parliamentary vote.

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel (Photo: Facebook page)

Stuart Luke, a partner at the firm who was also involved in Miller’s case, will argue that ministers do not have powers to agree an international deal without first seeking parliamentary approval.

The deal was enabled through changes to second legislation brought through in January that adjudged anyone who arrived illegally via another “safe” country, such as France, “inadmissible” to the UK asylum system.

Priti Patel defends plans to send asylum seekers on one-way trip to Rwanda

This allowed Patel to sign the deal in Rwanda just hours after consulting the Cabinet and without any legislation, debates or votes in Parliament.

Luke told The Times: “It’s very interesting that a prime minister can enter into a ‘world-first’ agreement without there being any debate and vote on the details and specifics of the deal in parliament."

He and his team will also argue that the deal fails the Geneva Convention’s rules that asylum seekers are entitled to have their asylum status determined in the country in which they claim it.

Anglican church leader condemns UK plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda

Neither man has yet been screened by Home Office officials, a process that usually occurs within days of claiming asylum, after which they are asked where they are from, how they got to the UK, and what the basis of their claim for asylum is.

A further challenge will test the policy’s compliance with data protection laws, questioning how sharing personal data with Rwanda is compliant with GDPR rules. A Home Office source said: “We welcome the challenge and it was always to be expected.”

Source: arabnews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.