Countries: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, World Source: UN Human Rights Council GENEVA (10 July 2024)–Independent human rights experts* today welcomed the decision by the newly elected UK Government to scrap the policy to transfer asylum seekers who meet certain conditions to Rwanda for asylum processing. “We are encouraged to learn that the UK plans to reassume State responsibility for receiving and assessing individual asylum applications domestically,” the experts said. “This is an important step to ensure the right to asylum and protection of the human rights of all migrants and refugees seeking protection in the UK, regardless of how they arrive.” The UK Government first announced a new Migration and Economic Development Partnership with the Government of Rwanda (UK-Rwanda Asylum Partnership) in 2022. In November 2023, the UK Supreme Court held that the UK-Rwanda Asylum Partnership was unlawful on the basis that Rwanda could not be considered to be a safe third country owing to its past practice of refoulement. In response to that ruling, the two Governments subsequently signed the UK-Rwanda Asylum Partnership Treaty on 5 December 2023, which was later ratified by the UK Parliament in April 2024. The UK Government also published the Safety of Rwanda Bill in December 2023 to require all decision-makers in the UK to conclusively treat Rwanda as a safe third country, which the UK Parliament passed into law on 23 April 2024. Since the UK-Rwanda policy was announced in 2022, UNHCR, OHCHR, and several UN human rights mechanisms have repeatedly raised concerns that the controversial asylum arrangement between the UK and Rwanda was not in accordance with the UK’s obligations under both international human rights and refugee law. “Two years after the initial announcement of the UK-Rwanda Asylum Partnership, it is a relief that the UK Government has finally made a courageous decision to abort the controversial plan,” the experts said. “The plan would have externalised the UK’s asylum obligations and posed serious human rights risks for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees and would have also undermined the international protection system more broadly.” The experts said they look forward to learning about new measures and reforms in migration and asylum governance in the UK. “We reiterate our call to the UK Government to ensure that border governance measures, including those aimed at addressing unsafe and irregular arrivals of migrants, fully respect international human rights and refugee law,” they said. *Gehad Madi,Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants Tomoya Obokata,Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences Margaret Satterthwaite,Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Alice Jill Edwards,Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment Siobhán Mullally,Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children Reem Alsalem,Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences Ashwini K.P.Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance Matthew Gillett (Chair), Ganna Yudkivska (Vice-Chair on Communications), Priya Gopalan (Vice-Chair on Follow-Up), Miriam Estrada-Castillo and Mumba Malila,Working Group on Arbitrary Detention The Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups are part of what is known as theSpecial Proceduresof the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms. Special Procedures mandate-holders are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. They are not UN staff and are independentfrom any government or organisation. They serve in their individual capacity and do not receive a salary for their work. For additional information andmedia requestsplease contact Ms. Yiyao Zhang(yiyao.zhang@un.org). Formedia inquiriesrelated to other UN independent experts, please contact Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org) or John Newland (john.newland@un.org). Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter@UN_SPExperts.