Rwanda contests ruling on UK's asylum plan that describes it an unsafe country for refugees

The Rwandan government says it remains committed to the agreement with London to deport illegal migrants from Britain to Rwanda, despite the British courts ruling declaring the deal "illegal".

A statement signed by the east African govt spokesperson Yolande Makolo, said the decision ultimately rests with the British courts. 

"While this decision ultimately rests with the British courts, we contest the fact that Rwanda is not considered a safe country for refugees and asylum seekers" Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo told AFP.

The British court of appeal's Thursday ruling comes to the dismay of both the Rwandan government and the British government.

But it is certainly to the delight of Asylum Aid, a group that was among the parties that brought a challenge against the government's Rwanda policy.

Alison Pickup, Director of Asylum Aid where she leads an expert team providing legal representation to asylum seekers and refugees welcomed the ruling.

"Yeah, so our clients were very scared of being sent to Rwanda, a country they know nothing about, most have been to, some have never heard of, and they thought they'd reached protection and safety in the UK after a long and grueling journey". And so, they were very scared, they'll be relieved that that's not going to happen. But also, they've been through a lot of uncertainty over the last year. And that's just compounded the trauma that they've experienced."

The plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was announced when Boris Johnson was Prime Minister, in a bid to discourage illegal crossings of the English Channel. No expulsions have yet taken place. A first flight scheduled for June 2022 was cancelled after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) called for a thorough review of the policy. 

Following Thursday's appeal court ruling, the British government says it will now refer the matter to the supreme court.