InsiderBLM Africa
The British government announced on Sunday that it might begin deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda in the coming months, but only if UK courts uphold the legality of the contentious practice.
The Home Office stated that it hoped to begin flights “before the summer” as Home Secretary Suella Braverman visited the nation in east Africa to reaffirm the Conservative government’s commitment to the idea.
She met with President Paul Kagame and Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta in the Rwandan capital of Kigali, visited a facility that will house British nationals being deported there, and laid a brick at another migrant housing development. Over 1,000 homes are anticipated to be built as part of the project.
Through our partnership, I have thoroughly enjoyed witnessing the wealth of opportunities this nation can offer to those who have moved, Braverman said.
Rwanda will provide migrants with “the opportunity to build new lives in a safe, secure place through housing, education, and vocational training,” according to Biruta.
Yolande Makolo, a spokeswoman for the Rwandan government, told reporters that her country is prepared to welcome thousands of immigrants from the UK and that she does not see residing there as “punishment.” She claimed that Rwanda is committed to seeing the agreement through.
A deal between the UK and Rwanda stipulates that some migrants who arrive in the UK on small boats will be flown to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed. This agreement was reached almost a year ago. Those who received asylum would remain in Rwanda as opposed to going back to Britain.
The UK government claims that the policy will undermine the economic viability of people-smuggling organizations and discourage immigrants from making perilous crossings of the English Channel.
Compared to 2020, when 8,500 people arrived in Britain by boat, more than 45,000 people did so in 2022.
But no one has yet been sent to Rwanda, and the $170 million ($140 million) plan is beset by legal issues. The policy was declared legal by the High Court in December, but a group of asylum seekers from nations like Iran, Iraq, and Syria have been given permission to appeal.
Human rights organizations argue that it is cruel to send people more than 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) to a country they do not want to live in due to Rwanda’s poor human rights record.
The government has also proposed legislation that would prevent anyone who enters the UK on a small boat or through another unauthorized route from requesting asylum. The government would be required to detain all such arrivals and deport them to their home country or a “safe third country,” such as Rwanda, if the Illegal Migration Bill were to be approved by Parliament.
According to the UN agency for refugees, the law violates UK obligations under the international refugee convention.
Braverman is under fire for using taxpayer money to travel to Rwanda while only inviting a few media outlets. The BBC and the left-leaning Guardian newspaper were not invited; only journalists from right-leaning sources, such as The Times and The Telegraph newspapers and television network GB News, were.
