Illegal Migrants To Be Flown To Rwanda In Exchange For £140m

Britain has signed a new treaty with Rwanda, claiming that it will overturn a court decision that has blocked its intention to deport asylum seekers to the East African country, a decision that has delivered a significant blow to the government’s immigration policy.

Other nations considering similar measures are keeping a close eye on the Rwanda policy, which attempts to stop illegal migration.

However, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom determined in November that the plan would breach international human rights laws embedded in domestic legislation.

The new treaty, signed by British Home Secretary (interior minister) James Cleverly and replacing a non-binding memorandum of understanding, states that Rwanda will not deport asylum seekers to countries where their life or freedom might be threatened, which is one of the court’s primary concerns.

Read Also: UK Supreme court rejects Rishi Sunak’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda

There will also be a monitoring committee to which citizens can direct confidential complaints, as well as a new appeals body comprised of judges from throughout the world.

Cleverly predicted that migrants would flock to Rwanda in the coming months because the treaty solved all of the Supreme Court’s concerns.

“I really hope that we can now move quickly,” Cleverly told reporters in Rwanda’s capital Kigali.

According to a proposal agreed upon last year, Britain aims to deport thousands of undocumented asylum seekers to Rwanda in order to prevent migrants from attempting the risky trek across the Channel from Europe in small boats.

Rwanda has received an initial payment of 140 million pounds ($180 million) in exchange for the guarantee of additional funds to cover the accommodation and care of any deported individuals.

Many lawyers and NGOs, however, believe that deportation flights will not begin until the upcoming election. If the opposition Labour Party wins, which now has a double-digit lead in the polls, it intends to abandon the Rwanda policy.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has been in office for just over a year, is under great pressure from both his own parliamentarians and many people to reduce net migration, which reached a record 745,000 last year, with the vast majority arriving legally.