The Irish High Court has ruled that a decision made by the Minister for Justice in 2020 to declare the UK as a “safe country” to send asylum seekers back to during processing was “unlawful as a matter of EU law.” The judgment followed the rejection of two individuals’ applications for international protection in Ireland due to their connections with the UK.
The UK is seeking to implement a plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda whilst their applications are under review. The UK Supreme Court had previously overruled this initiative on the grounds that Rwanda does not meet the criteria for a safe country to dispatch asylum seekers to. Despite this court ruling, the UK Parliament attempted to circumvent this decision by passing the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill.
The Irish High Court’s judgment highlighted that since the UK continues to consider sending asylum seekers back to Rwanda, a country Ireland has not declared safe, the 2020 decision by the Minister for Justice goes against the principle of non-refoulement. This principle forbids the return of asylum seekers to a country where their basic rights could be at risk.
As of now, the UK has not provided an official response to this ruling.
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