UK signs new treaty with Rwanda to send illegal migrants to the African nation

British Home Secretary James Cleverly on Tuesday (Dec 5) signed the new migrant treaty with Rwanda which attempts to circumvent the legal block placed on the government’s policy of sending asylum seekers to the African country. 

Speaking after the signing of the treaty, Cleverly said there was no “credible” reason to block the deportation flights and that he hoped that “we can now move quickly”, referring to the backlog of aliens. 

Last month, the UK Supreme Court ruled that such a move violates the international human rights enshrined in domestic legislation. One of the biggest points raised by the court was that the asylum seekers would then be deported back to their home nations from where they had escaped the torturous conditions. 

To mitigate the SC’s concerns, the new treaty states that anyone sent to Rwanda will be given permanent leave to remain there even if their asylum application failed, according to the Financial Times. 

Notably, former interior minister Priti Patel in April last year brought the “Rwanda Asylum Policy” but its implementation remained in limbo due to the court proceedings.

Under the plan, the British government is aiming to send thousands of illegal migrants to Rwanda to deter others from crossing the Channel on small, dangerous boats. 

In return, the relatively underdeveloped nation has received a payment of $180 million with the promise of more money to fund the accommodation and care of any deported individuals. 

At the start of the year, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, amid much pomp, laid out five pledges for 2023, of which one was to stop migrants from entering the UK illegally. 

However, Sunak’s enthusiasm appeared to take a hit mid-year when he said his plan to stop small boats crossing the Channel “won’t happen overnight”. He also pushed the timeline to achieve his goals beyond the general elections.

“I’ve always said that this is not something that is easy – it is a complicated problem, where there’s no single, simple solution that will fix it. And I’ve also said that it won’t happen overnight,” Sunak said in an interview. 

The immigration crisis reached a peak in 2022 when over 45,000 people entered the UK, breaking the previous year’s record by more than 17,000. up until August this year, a total of 25,043 illegal migrants had the journey across the Channel. 

(With inputs from agencies)