KIGALI, Rwanda :British Home Secretary James Cleverly is in Rwanda this week to salvage a controversial scheme to send asylum-seekers there from the UK. The UK government said Cleverly will sign a new treaty with his Rwandan counterpart, Vincent Biruta, and discuss how to move forward with the stalled “migration and economic development partnership.”
“I look forward to meeting with counterparts to sign this agreement and further discuss how we work together to tackle the global challenge of illegal migration,” Cleverly said. “Rwanda cares deeply about the rights of refugees.” The Rwanda scheme is key to the Conservative government’s pledge to stop unauthorized asylum-seekers arriving on small boats across the English Channel.
Under the deal struck in April 2022, some migrants who cross the Channel would be sent to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be processed and, if successful, they would remain. The UK government claims that the deportations will deter others from making the perilous sea journey and disrupt the networks of people-smugglers. Opponents say it is both immoral and impractical to send migrants to a country 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) away, with no hope of ever settling in the UK.
The UK has already paid Rwanda at least 140 million pounds ($177 million) under the deal, but no one has yet been sent there due to legal hurdles. Last month the UK Supreme Court ruled the scheme was unlawful because Rwanda is not a safe country for refugees. The court said asylum-seekers faced “a real risk of ill-treatment” and could be sent back by Rwanda to the countries they had escaped from. Rwanda’s government has been accused by human rights groups of suppressing dissent and controlling many aspects of life, from jailing critics to keeping homeless people off the streets of Kigali.
The government denies it. The UK government responded by saying it would strike a new treaty with Rwanda to address the court’s concerns — including a guarantee that Rwanda would not send migrants back — and then pass a law declaring Rwanda a safe destination.
