The High Court in Belfast ruled on Monday that several provisions of British law allowing the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda do not apply in Northern Ireland, further complicating enforcement.

Just weeks after approving the controversial text allowing refugees who entered British soil illegally to be deported to the African country, Judge Michael Humphreys ruled that entire sections of the law should be so. “canceled” Before it was applied in Northern Ireland in the name of human rights protection.

“This judgment sends a clear message to the British Government (…) that asylum seekers in Northern Ireland will not only be welcomed, but protected under the law”, the origin of this appeal was partly due to Sinead Marmion, a lawyer for a 16-year-old Iranian refugee, who rejoiced in a press release. According to her, this decision a “The Great Barrier” Towards the enforcement of anti-immigration laws in Northern Ireland.

Good Friday Peace Agreement

Northern Irish justice – which operates independently of the English judicial system – was particularly mentioned in the Good Friday Peace Agreement, which ended three decades of bloody fighting over British sovereignty in 1998. The judge considered several provisions in the text to undermine the rights of asylum seekers, as guaranteed by the peace accord and the recently signed legal texts to protect it. They also violate rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights, to which the United Kingdom is a signatory, he said.

Gavin Robinson, interim leader of the unionist DUP party, which is committed to keeping Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, expressed concern that the region would become a region after the decision. “magnet” For refugees, unless anti-immigrant law applies to them. Criticized by the UN, the Labor opposition and human rights groups, the British Conservative government's law is causing tension between London and Dublin.

Since it came into effect, many refugees have entered Ireland via Northern Ireland in the hope of escaping deportation to Rwanda. Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris has warned that Dublin will take measures to stem the flow of refugees, including sending them back to the United Kingdom.