By Milicent Akeyo
British government is trying to push through a migration policy that could allow the deportation of tens of thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda despite a Supreme Court ruling declaring the plan illegal.
There have also been growing criticisms by opposition politicians and human rights campaigners who view the move as a human rights violation.
But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says his administration wants to curb the number of irregular migrants arriving in the country.
''There is no way to stop people coming here unless you have a deterrent that means they will be sent somewhere else. It's as simple as that,'' Mr Sunak said during a presentation to MPs earlier this month.
''This is our deterrent and we are doing everything we can to get it on the statute books and get it up and running,” he vowed.
British MPs approved the plan on December 11 with 313 lawmakers voting for a bill backing the policy while 269 against it.
Safety concerns
This happened barely a week after the UK and Rwanda signed a new treaty mandating the East African nation to receive those to be sent out of the UK after the Supreme Court annulled the initial deal.
"We want to make sure that people can live in safety and prosperity,'' Home Secretary James Cleverly said during the signing of the deal in Kigali.
The treaty would build on the joint work of the two countries and align Rwanda's ''positive professional attitude'' with UK's work ''to ensure that we break the business model of those evil people smuggling networks,'' he said.
The new deal between the two countries and its subsequent approval by the UK parliament come after the UK Supreme Court raised concerns over the safety of those to be deported in its November ruling.
But Rwanda says it is safe for asylum seekers to be deported promising to implementing the treaty with the United Kingdom.
"I want to reaffirm that the people allocated to Rwanda will be welcomed and that they will be provided both the safety and support they need to build new lives,'' Rwandan Foreign Minister, Vincent Birutsa said.
The whole plan was first announced in April 2022 by the then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson after Britain and Rwanda struck a deal dubbed “UK-Rwanda migration and Economic Development Partnership”.
Obligations
The government said any person entering Britain illegally after January 1, 2022, would be deported under the policy insisting that this move would deter people arriving through ‘’illegal, dangerous or unnecessary methods.’’
The five-year scheme is intended to allow irregular migrants crossing the 33-kilometre English Channel on small boats to be sent to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be processed and, if successful, they would stay.
Britain hopes to reduce the number of asylum seekers to below 100,000 every year – a situation the government said would help it save billions of pounds.
In 2022 alone, there were over 600,000 net immigrations, according to the UK government.
The UK said the newly signed treaty would ensure that Rwanda does not expel asylum seekers to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened.
''What the agreement brings in as something new is that it creates binding obligations on Rwanda when it receives these asylum seekers which was not expressly stated (in the previous deal),'' Dr. Alphonse Muleefu, a lecturer at the University of Rwanda told TRT Afrika.
The East African country ''could be held responsible under international law for violating those obligations,” the academic added.
Rwanda has repeatedly rejected claims that it is not safe for asylum seekers.
This is not the first time that the country will play host to asylum seekers. It has hosted migrants and refugees since 1996.
The cost
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Rwanda was hosting over 135,000 refugees and asylum seekers as of September 2023 – mainly from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi and Libya. It has offered asylum to some Afghan refugees particularly students.
The UK government says the country’s asylum system costs three billion pounds every year with eight million pounds spend daily on hotel accommodation for refugees and asylum seekers. The government wants to cut this expenditure.
It has promised to cater for the people to be deported to Rwanda including their accommodation and living expenses for up to five years.
The UK has so far given Rwanda £240 million in economic development aid with another £100 million reportedly expected to be given in 2024 and 2026 in two instalments.
This is on top of an estimated £170,000 per asylum seeker that the UK government expects to spend under the new deal.
Becoming stateless
Analysts say as anti-immigration sentiments’ increase in Europe, more asylum seekers could be scapegoated and better alternative solutions will be difficult to find.
”Statistics show that 50% of people who seek asylum in Europe end up not getting it. So they end up being rejected,'' Muleefu said.
''The people who have been rejected end up as either stateless people or continue to stay in inhumane conditions,'' he added.
''What I think that concerns people is that the current process in which people get to Europe is very dangerous and it is profiting criminal activities,” he lamented.
Under the asylum deportation plan, deportees are to be sheltered in a renovated facility in Kigali. The 50-room facility had hosted survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
So far, no single asylum seeker has actually been taken from the UK to Rwanda. The first deportation plane was due to take off in June 2022 but was blocked by legal challenges and the trip was aborted.
For now, deportation is not likely to commence before the upcoming elections in the UK next year with the issue likely to feature prominently during campaigning.
Experts say the political, the legal and human rights as well as the economic implications of the UK-Rwanda asylum policy could be far-reaching. The debate continues.
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