Supreme Court declares Rwanda’s asylum laws unconstitutional

The Rwandan asylum policy is illegal, according to the UK Supreme Court, because it might force refugees to return to their home countries, which might violate international human rights treaties.

The decision comes after the Court of Appeal declared in June that the policy was unconstitutional. The legal argument opposing the policy is predicated on the idea of “non-refoulement,” which holds that individuals seeking asylum should not be sent back to their home country if doing so would put them in danger. The Court of Appeal’s ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court, which also concluded that there were “substantial grounds” to think that the Rwandan government might send deported individuals to dangerous locations.