The United Kingdom and Rwanda announced an agreement in April that would house thousands of asylum seekers in Rwanda. People who have illegally entered the UK since January 1 can be sent to Rwanda. The plan to limit illegal immigration costs 144 million euros.
Amnesty International said the British government has “dissociated itself far from humanity and reality”. The rest of the reactions at home were also not mild. “Unworkable, unethical and exorbitant,” says the centre-left Labor party. A spokesperson called it a “shameless” distraction from the “partygate” scandal.
At the end of April, Denmark also announced that it wants to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda. But the Danes have not yet reached an agreement with Rwanda on this.
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The UK’s measures are partly intended to deter people from making the dangerous crossing of the Channel from France, often in small boats operated by smugglers. The Court of Appeal has therefore ruled in favor of the British government, after a lower court in London also gave the green light for the deportations on Friday. It is not possible to appeal again, the judge said on Monday.
poorer countries
UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi called the British plan “completely wrong, for so many reasons” on Monday. Grandi pointed out that there are many countries in Africa and elsewhere that are much poorer than the UK and yet host hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of refugees. The UN refugee chief fears that such countries will do something similar. “The precedent this is setting is catastrophic,” Grandi said.
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