It is a European first, morally and legally questionable, which revolts NGOs helping refugees. After months of negotiations, the British Conservative government announced on Thursday April 14 the signing of an agreement with Rwanda to send people who cross the Channel “illegally” to this Central African country, according to the British authorities. (in inflatable boats or hidden in trucks). These people, who have come to seek asylum in the United Kingdom, will be accommodated in Rwanda, 6,400 kilometers from the British coast, where their applications will be examined. And if they are granted refugee status, it will be to stay in Rwanda – not to return to the UK.
“Ending illegal immigration is the only way to welcome those who really need protection”, says Boris Johnson
This partnership negotiated for nine months between London and Kigali aims first to discourage crossings. But Boris Johnson preferred on Thursday to highlight the fight against smugglers “which cause too much human misery and death”in reference to the twenty-seven people drowned in the English Channel in November 2021. “Yesterday, 600 people crossed the English Channel, in the coming weeks, the crossings could increase to 1,000 per day. Other people risk losing their lives. Ending illegal immigration is the only way to welcome those who really need protection”added the Conservative Prime Minister.
Traveling to Kigali on Thursday to finalize the agreement, his interior minister, Priti Patel, judged him ” creative “ and “compassionate”. “Rwanda has already taken in many refugees, it is a safe country, which respects the rule of law”, said this early Brexiteer, known for her very right-wing positions. At his side, the Rwandan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Vincent Biruta, welcomed the ” opportunities “ generated by London which will pay a first installment of 120 million pounds sterling to the country, which, in return, “will provide shelter and training” to the displaced, said the minister.
“Subcontracting” of migrants to a country in the South
The United Kingdom is the first European country to concretize a “subcontracting” of its migrants to a country of the South. Others are also tempted, like Denmark, also in negotiations with Kigali. London is modeled on Canberra, Australia having sent its migrants to the Manus Islands and Nauru in the early 2000s. A very controversial policy, causing great moral and physical suffering among the displaced.
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