The interior ministers of the United Kingdom and Rwanda signed a treaty on Tuesday, December 12, that aims to revive a plan to send asylum-seekers to the East African country that had been blocked by UK courts. British Home Secretary James Cleverly said the legally binding agreement signed with his Rwandan counterpart, Vincent Biruta, would "address all the issues" raised by the UK Supreme Court when it ruled last month that the policy was unlawful.
The court had said the plan was illegal because Rwanda is not a safe country for refugees. It said asylum-seekers faced "a real risk of ill-treatment" and could be returned by Rwanda to the home countries they had fled. The new treaty includes a promise by Rwanda not to send asylum-seekers back to their home countries, even if their applications are refused.
"We feel very strongly that this treaty addresses all of the issues raised by their lordships in the Supreme Court and we have worked very closely with our Rwandan partners to ensure that it does so," Cleverly said in Kigali, the Rwandan capital.
The Rwanda plan is central to the Conservative government's self-imposed goal of stopping unauthorized asylum-seekers arriving on small boats across the English Channel. The UK and Rwanda struck a deal in April 2022 for some migrants who cross the Channel to be sent to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be processed and, if successful, they would stay. The British government argues that the deportations will discourage others from making the risky sea crossing and break the business model of people-smuggling gangs.
Critics say it is both unethical and unworkable to send migrants to a country 6,400 kilometers away, with no chance of ever settling in the UK. Britain has already paid Rwanda at least £140 million ($177 million) under the agreement, but no one has yet been sent there amid legal challenges.
Cleverly said Rwanda had not received "any funding linked to the signing of this treaty," but did not rule out paying more to help the country meet its new commitments under the deal.
For years, human rights groups have accused Rwanda’s government of cracking down on perceived dissent and keeping tight control on many aspects of life, from jailing critics to keeping homeless people off the streets of Kigali. The government denies it.
The British government responded by saying it would strike a new treaty with Rwanda to address the court's concerns – including a block on Rwanda sending migrants home – and then pass a law declaring Rwanda a safe destination.