Britain signed a new treaty with African nation Rwanda on Tuesday (December 5) aiming to send asylum seekers back after the United Kingdom’s (UK) top court declared the deportation scheme unlawful.
Home Secretary James Cleverly signed off on the pact with Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta during a visit to the Rwandan capital Kigali.
Our landmark treaty with Rwanda makes it clear - we will do whatever it takes to stop the boats. pic.twitter.com/oHhg3U6yzC
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) December 5, 2023
UK PM Rishi Sunak also tweeted soon after the agreement.
"I said I would stop the boats. I meant it. We've signed a treaty with Rwanda making it clear that it's us who decides who comes to this country—not criminal gangs."
“We feel very strongly that this treaty addresses all the issues raised by their lordships in the Supreme Court and we have worked very closely with our Rwandan partners to ensure that it does so,” Cleverly told reporters in Kigali.
“We’ve addressed the issues that were raised by their lordships in this treaty, and that will be reflected in domestic legislation soon because we are absolutely committed to breaking the business model of these people-smuggling gangs, to create a safe and welcoming environment with our friends and partners here in Rwanda, but also making sure that mass migration is well managed into this country,” he added.
UK's Supreme Court had ruled that the plan was illegal because the African nation was not a safe country for refugees. Britain’s top court said asylum-seekers faced “a real risk of ill-treatment.”
The UK government argues that the deportations will discourage others from making the risky sea crossing. Critics of the government policy, however, consider sending migrants to a country 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) away as unethical.
The British government hopes that under the new treaty, it will be able to deport illegal migrants back to their home country, where their asylum applications will be processed.
Meanwhile, they would be provided with accommodation and work there under the funding arrangement with the UK.
(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)
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