Rwanda takes issue with UK judicial system over migration deal

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - The Rwandan government expressed concern Thursday over a ruling by the UK Court of Appeal which said that Rwanda is not a safe country for asylum seekers and refugees.

In April last year, the UK signed a controversial partnership deal with Rwanda that would see asylum seekers attempting to enter the UK being sent to the East African country for resettlement.

But on Thursday, the Court of Appeal said there were deficiencies in Rwanda's asylum system which leaves substantial grounds to believe that asylum seekers sent there would be repatriated to their home countries, where they would face “persecution or other inhumane treatment.”

The verdict thus rendered irrelevant last year’s ruling of Britain's High Court that said Rwanda was a safe third country for asylum seekers and refugees.

“The High Court’s decision that Rwanda was a safe third country is reversed, and that unless and until the deficiencies in its asylum processes are corrected, removal of asylum-seekers to Rwanda will be unlawful,” the court ruled.

In a statement, the Rwandan government said it takes issue with the ruling.

“While this is ultimately a decision for the UK’s judicial system, we do take issue with the ruling that Rwanda is not a safe country for asylum seekers and refugees,” it said.

“Rwanda is one of the safest countries in the world, and we have been recognized by the UNHCR and other international institutions for our exemplary treatment of refugees.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Thursday that he “fundamentally disagrees” with the ruling of the Court of Appeal and the government would challenge it in the Supreme Court.

The deal, formally called the Rwanda-UK Migration and Economic Development Partnership Initiative, has faced criticism from rights activists and even the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), who argue that no sufficient safeguards and standards are in place to facilitate such a deal.

But the Rwandan government’s statement said “Rwanda remains fully committed to making this partnership work.”

“When the migrants do arrive, we will welcome them and provide them with the support they will need to build new lives in Rwanda,” it said.

The plan is aimed at ending people smuggling across the English Channel, according to the British government.

The UK is offering an upfront investment of £120 million ($151.4 million) to facilitate the implementation of the agreement.

The government revealed this week that sending each asylum seeker to Rwanda would on average cost £169,000.

More than 44,000 migrants were reported to have arrived in the UK across the Channel last year.

In March this year, UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman was in Rwanda for the launch of construction for new homes in the capital Kigali meant to accommodate migrants from the UK.

In June 2022, the first planned Rwanda deportation flight was blocked after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in a last-minute ruling issued an injunction preventing any deportations until the conclusion of the legal process in Britain.