Rwanda Welcomes Ruling on UK Plan for Migrants

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Dr. Vincent Biruta and Priti Patel, the former Home Secretary of the United Kingdom sign the agreement in Kigali on April 14,2022. 

Times Reporter Times Reporter

Monday, December 19, 2022

The government of Rwanda has welcomed the ruling by the High Court of the United Kingdom which gave a green light to the policy to transfer of illegal immigrants to Rwanda from the European country.

In April, Rwanda and the UK signed the partnership that would see migrants and asylum seekers who are illegally in the UK transferred to Rwanda.

The transfer of the first group, which was initially slated for June, was however disrupted by a last minute court injunction, after some of the migrants petitioned courts claiming it was an illegal process.

The legal challenges were however dismissed on Monday by the country’s high court, saying the transfer of the migrants to Rwanda was legal and consistent with the refugee convention of 1951.

"We welcome this decision and stand ready to offer asylum seekers and migrants safety and the opportunity to build a new life in Rwanda. This is a positive step in our quest to contribute to innovative, long-term solutions to the global migration crisis," reads a government statement.

The unique pact dubbed the Migration and Economic Development Partnership concerns all the migrants and asylum seekers who arrived in the UK illegally from January 1, 2022.

According to the arrangement, the migrants who will be transferred to Rwanda will be facilitated to start new life, including being facilitated to get “secondary qualifications, vocational and skills training, language lessons, and higher education.”

The UK will also support in terms of accommodation prior to local integration and resettlement.

The ruling has also been welcomed by Rishi Sunak, the British Prime Minister and his predecessor Boris Johnson, with the latter saying that this was “the only humane ways of dealing with the trafficking gangs who are exploiting many people.”