After the British Court of Appeal on Thursday rejected a plan by London to deport unlawful migrants to the east African nation, Rwanda reaffirmed on Friday that it was safe for asylum seekers.
According to the judgement, Rwanda cannot be regarded as a third-world safe country. However, Kigali asserts that it has treated refugees admirably, garnering plaudits from the UN in the process.
“In any event, we’re absolutely satisfied that the country is secure, and we’re going to carefully review the entire verdict to understand how the judges arrived at their decision. According to Alain Mukuralinda, the Rwandan government’s deputy spokesman, “And we’re confident we can prove the opposite.”
The decision is a setback for the London-based Conservative government, which wants to be perceived as being tough on unauthorized immigration.
Rwanda has already received millions of dollars in fees for taking in deportees.
“Just because there have been court rulings halting the implementation of the agreement does not mean that the money has not been used. The money will continue to be used until the first migrant is in Rwanda. Rwanda must therefore be ready to welcome them. I would say to you that today, even if tomorrow we were sent 100 or 200 or 300 migrants, we are ready to receive them,” Mukuralinda said.
In order to defeat the agreement, activists have singled out Rwanda for its appalling record on human rights and its treatment of the political opposition.
London and Kigali have both emphasised that the nation is a secure place for deportees to go.
According to government statistics, more than 45,000 persons entered British territory by hopping the English Channel in 2022, breaking the previous year’s record by more than 17,000 people.
