ICYMI: Rwanda ‘committed’ to receiving migrants despite scrapping of UK asylum deal

The Rwandan government says it is committed to providing safety, dignity, and opportunity to refugees and migrants who come to the country.

The government said it is not deterred by the decision of the United Kingdom (UK) to scrap the migration deal between both countries.

In April 2022, the UK announced that it had entered a migration partnership with Rwanda to relocate asylum seekers to the East African country for processing.

Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak considered the partnership an integral part of his policy as pressure mounted from parliament to cut net migration.

However, Keir Starmer, Sunak’s successor, does not share in his predecessor’s approaches.

In a news conference on Saturday, the new prime minister said he would not continue with the previous Conservative government’s policy.

“The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started. It’s never been a deterrent,” Starmer said.

“I’m not prepared to continue with gimmicks that don’t act as deterrents,” he said, describing the plan as a “problem that we are inheriting”.

The financial implications of scrapping the scheme are not yet known.

Under the scheme, the Home Office had agreed to pay money into a fund to support economic growth in Rwanda and provide extra payments to cover the cost of processing and relocating individuals there.

As part of this arrangement, the UK has already paid £220 million to Rwanda.

Ending the scheme also leaves a question mark over the fate of 52,000 migrants earmarked for deportation.

Reacting to the development in a statement on Monday, the Rwandan government said it would continue to seek ways to address the global migration crisis.

The government also clarified that it fully upheld its side of the agreement, including the finances.

“This partnership was initiated by the Government of the UK in order to address the crisis of irregular migration affecting the UK — a problem of the UK, not Rwanda,” the statement said.