During a press conference yesterday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new policy for dealing with immigration in the UK. The new immigration policy will allow the UK government to transfer asylum seekers in Britain to the East African country of Rwanda.
Johnson claims that this will disrupt the business model of those who smuggle people into Britain. Boris Johnson has clearly stated that anyone entering the UK illegally or having arrived after January 1st illegally will be deported to Rwanda. From there, people will be sent to their respective nations and the Rwandan government will provide them with residence there.
Last year, more than 28,000 migrants and refugees crossed the English Channel to enter the UK. Moreover, in November, a boat filled with migrants sank in the English Channel during an attempt to reach the UK. This was the most awful thing that had happened when transients and refugees attempted to cross the English Channel from France to the UK, killing right around 27 individuals.
Boris Johnson shows concern over the ever-increasing illegal immigrant problem in the UK. This Wednesday alone, around 600 people reached the UK territory illegally. Further, Johnson warned that this may increase and reach about 1,000 people per day. “We can’t ask the British tax payers to write a blank cheque to cover the costs of anyone who might want to come and live here”, said Boris Johnson. Boris Johnson lays out plans https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-61097114
Where is Rwanda?
Rwanda is an East African country landlocked by the countries of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania. The UK’s Home Secretary, Priti Patel, travelled to the rural country of Rwanda to look into the proceedings. Primarily a rural East African nation, it is controlled by the autocratic President Paul Kagame.
Kagame is supported for his leadership in pulling Rwanda from the poverty crisis by his supporters in the west. Others accuse him of murdering his opponents brutally. The nation also witnessed a major genocide in 1994 in which 800,000 people died in merely 100 days. However, Kagame claims credit for putting an end to genocide and poverty in the country, while some of his detractors want statistics.
Human Rights and Refugee agencies denounce the decision
Human rights groups have expressed concern over the new immigration policy of the UK. Human rights groups call the policy an inhumane act that violates international agreements on refugees. This could further encourage other countries to adopt the same policy of deporting refugees to other countries, a tactic known as “offshoring”.
Those who reach Rwanda can opt to seek resettlement in some other country, return home, or stay in Rwanda. Britain is ready to pay 120 million pounds, i.e., $157 million, to provide educational, vocational, and skills training in Rwanda, including language lessons.
Certainly, Rwanda’s past record of holding refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo is not without controversy. Rwandan authorities are accused of firing at 12 refugees following a protest outside the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Another issue pointed out by Andy Hewett, head of advocacy for the Refugee Council, is of the UK accepting Ukrainian refugees. According to government data, about 16,400 refugees entered Britain from Ukraine. The British government issued 56,500 visas. Mr. Hewett said,
“There is no difference between the risks facing Ukrainian refugees and the risks facing refugees from other conflict zones across the world.” And the response from the U.K. government needs to be consistent. They can’t have an open door for one group and, at the same time, slam the door shut on another group. “
The United Nations Refugee Agency in the UK said that the cost of this policy would be extremely high. He said, “Agreements of the sort struck with Rwanda were often eye-wateringly expensive, often violate international law, lead to the use of widespread detention, and lead to more smuggling, not less.” Further, with this policy, the UK is not helping the refugees, but rather shifting the responsibilities onto them entirely.
Failure of Johnson’s government
According to international data, the number of refugees opting for dangerous routes to enter Britain is not very high. The number of people entering the UK territory is manageable. It is the British government’s inability to stop the regular flow of migrants crossing the English Channel from France in risky, often lethal, boats and routes.
The international data marks an utter embarrassment to Boris Johnson’s government’s methods. The choice of Rwandan authorities to manage the refugee crisis in the UK is raising concerns because of the humanitarian crisis in Rwanda. The same humanitarian crisis that Britain itself had questioned earlier.
Published by: Aditya Negi
Edited by: Aaradhana Singh
