Rwanda to process asylum procedures for Britain

The agreement with Rwanda, which is part of the Commonwealth, stipulates that the African country will subject migrants to an asylum procedure. If successful, they would be “entitled to full protection under Rwandan law, equal access to employment and access to health and social services,” the Kigali government said.

Great Britain will initially pay Rwanda 120 million pounds (around 144 million euros) for this. Men traveling alone are mostly affected by the regulation. Those who are already in the UK illegally will be flown to Rwanda.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to take action against illegal immigration and people smugglers with this measure. At the same time, this should prevent the seas, through which the migrants come to Europe, from becoming a “watery graveyard”, he emphasized.

Last year, 28 526 people crossed the English Channel in small boats. The year before, there were only 8 404. Another 600 illegal immigrants arrived in Britain on Wednesday alone.

Criticism of the Conservative government’s plans included the Labor Party and human rights groups. They referred to possible dangers for asylum seekers in Rwanda. Amnesty International UK Director for Refugee and Migrant Rights Steve Valdez-Symonds called the plan a “shockingly ill-conceived idea”. It will cause further suffering and waste “huge sums” of public money.

Since leaving the EU, the British government has tried to protect its borders from illegal immigrants. In this context, there were repeated disputes with France.