On Tuesday, the UK sent its first asylum seeker to Rwanda, a voluntary scheme. The migrant was one whose asylum application was denied.
The unnamed immigrant was flown out of the country on Monday. The man ‘consented’ to the offer to start afresh in Rwanda after his application to remain in Britain was denied at the end of 2023.
He took a commercial flight from the United Kingdom on April 30 and arrived in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. who is not Rwandan but said to be of "African origin". He is the first to have voluntarily moved to Rwanda
Following his flight from the United Kingdom to Kigali, the unnamed migrant received a grant of around £3,000 from the British government to help with his relocation in accordance with the terms of the UK-Rwanda agreement.
What is ‘Voluntary’ Scheme?
Under a ‘voluntary’ agreement, asylum seekers in Britain, whose applications to remain in the country have been rejected, will be eligible to receive up to £3,000 ($3,747.60) each if they agree to move to Rwanda.
Why? Because the UK government aims to move the asylum seekers to Rwanda to help clear the backlog of refugees who have arrived in the country in recent years.This new agreement is part of an existing government policy, where asylum seekers are offered financial assistance to leave Britain for their home country, but under this plan people will get the money if they agree to live in Rwanda.
A government spokesperson said "We are now able to send asylum seekers to Rwanda under our migration and economic development partnership,"
"This deal allows people with no immigration status in the UK to be relocated to a safe third country where they will be supported to rebuild their lives,” the spokesperson said.
Since 2018, tens of thousands of people have come to Britain in small boats, often escaping war or hunger and travelling through Europe and have been denied asylum in Britain but they can't be sent back because the government can't return them to a country with conflict or poor human rights conditions.
Sunak has said he wants the first deportation flights to leave in the next few months, ahead of a national election expected in the second half of this year, so he can meet a pledge to "stop the boats".
Earlier, the government had planned to begin flights in the spring. Sunak mentioned that there would be several flights each month during the summer and beyond. He stated that the government had a standby airfield and had reserved commercial charter planes.
The first flight transporting migrants to Rwanda was supposed to take place in June 2022 but was cancelled just before departure due to legal disputes.
What is ‘Forced’ Deportation? Different from ‘Voluntary’ Scheme
This recent 'voluntary' agreement with Rwanda is different from the government's controversial ‘forced deportation’ of the majority of asylum seekers to the East African nation.
According to the government, anyone seeking asylum who enters the UK "illegally" after January 1, 2022 from a nation like France, and undocumented migrants may be deported to Rwanda. Instead of in the UK, their asylum claims would be handled there.
They would not be allowed to return to the UK.
The goal of this "forced" deportation is to discourage migrants from entering the United Kingdom by boat across the English Channel. More than 7,500 migrants have traveled to England in small boats from France so far this year. The government claims that the new law will deter people from choosing the risky route across the Channel. Five individuals died last week while trying to cross.
As part of a campaign to deter people from northern Europe from arriving as migrants in small boats, the British government said on Tuesday that it intends to deport 5,700 migrants to Rwanda this year.
The illegal immigrants might be granted refugee status and allowed to stay in the east and central African landlocked countries. If not, they can apply to settle in Rwanda for other reasons or apply for asylum in another "safe third country."
Britain Government’s Plan
According to the government on Wednesday, British authorities have detained the first migrants who will be sent to Rwanda under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's signature policy on illegal migration within the next nine to eleven weeks.
By July, Sunak's Conservative government intends to start the expulsions.
A law authorizing the repatriation of undocumented asylum seekers to Rwanda was approved by the Parliament last month. "Stopping the boats" is one of Sunak's five campaign pledges, and the removal of the asylum-seeker is interpreted by many as a sign to voters that his government can successfully implement a more comprehensive immigration plan. Sunak is expected to call for elections later this year.
In order to garner support against the Labour party ahead of the next general election, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's administration is concentrating on halting illegal immigration. This decision was announced just before England and Wales' local elections, which the Conservatives are expected to lose to Labour.
Opposition Against ‘Forced Deportation’
The deportation plan was declared illegal by the Supreme Court of the UK last year. Reports emerged in the British media a week after a contentious law permitting the deportation of undocumented migrants to East Africa was passed, stating that the UK had started transferring its first asylum-seeker to Rwanda as part of a voluntary program.
The United Nations and human rights organisations have criticised the government's plan for forced deportation, which permits Britain to send undocumented migrants to Rwanda, where they may apply for asylum and be granted permission to stay.
According to a group that assists asylum seekers, they were demonstrating outside a south London immigration processing facility on X to stop an eviction. According to reports in the media, authorities will soon begin gathering individuals for the first deportation flights to Rwanda.
Following the UK Supreme Court's declaration of the policy's illegality last year, other unions and human rights organisations that are opposed to the program are anticipated to file lawsuits to halt the flights.
A refugee charity called Care4Calais said that the detentions had begun on Monday, as reported by Reuters.
A representative for the organisation reported that "tens of people" had called the helpline, but they were still unsure of who would be targeted for the first deportation flight or when it would be attempted.
With a population of 13 million, Rwanda is regarded as one of the most stable countries in Africa and is well-known for its cutting-edge infrastructure. Rwanda is located in the Great Lakes region of the continent. However, human rights organizations charge that longtime leader Paul Kagame suppresses free speech and dissent by governing in an atmosphere of fear.
For more, read: Britain's Rwanda Plan: A Moral Minefield Or Bold Deterrence?
Photo Credit: Multiple Sources
(Inputs From Agencies)
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