Rwanda

UK accused of shifting international obligations and Rwanda of ignoring issues causing its own refugees.

Ingabire was jailed for five years on what supporters say were politically motivated charges after returning to Rwanda to contest elections in 2010. Rwanda produced refugees too, said Ingabire. “These include Rwandan people who sought political and economic asylum in other countries. “Taking on migrants from UK will increase the land burden and survival challenges for the limited natural resources available.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel traveled to the African nation to sign a deal for a $160-million pilot program to cut back on migrant flow.

“We cannot sustain a parallel illegal system,” the prime minister said. “I accept that these people — whether 600 or 1,000 — are in search of a better life,” he said. In a single incident in November, at least 27 migrants died while attempting the crossing. “This is particularly perverse as those attempting crossings are not directly fleeing imminent peril as is the intended purpose of our asylum system,” he said. Smugglers convicted of piloting the crafts could face life in prison. Those deemed to have viable asylum claims may remain in Britain to pursue their cases.

Britain could send tens of thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda to be resettled, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday, setting out a tougher ...

A minister in Johnson's government said the plan was focused on single young men. Concerns over immigration were a big factor in the 2016 Brexit vote, and Johnson has been under pressure to deliver on his promise to "take back control" of Britain's borders. "Around 600 came across the Channel yesterday. The British government would contribute an initial 120 million pounds ($158 million). Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will seek to move on from his Covid-19 lockdown fine by announcing a plan to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda.

It has not yet been approved by Parliament, with the House of Lords seeking to dilute some of its most draconian provisions. Johnson’s Conservative government has introduced a tough new immigration bill that would make it more difficult for people who enter the country by unauthorized routes to claim asylum and would allow asylum-seekers to be screened abroad. Britain’s Conservative government has floated other proposals, including building a wave machine in the Channel to drive boats back and sending migrants to third countries. Last year, the U.K. agreed to give France $74 million to help fund a doubling of police patrolling French beaches. British government minister Simon Hart said the arrangement with Rwanda will cost Britain about $158 million to start. Rwanda confirmed the deal in a statement, but neither government provided full details of how it would work.

The prime minister insisted at a press conference that the African state, criticised last year by the UK for its human rights record, was one of the safest ...

And let’s be clear, Rwanda is one of the safest countries in the world, globally recognised for its record of welcoming and integrating migrants,” he said. Dozens have died attempting the crossing, including 27 people when a single boat capsized in November. Johnson took aim at lawyers who might challenge the government’s proposals on behalf of recent arrivals. Over the last few decades it has totally transformed from what it was.” He also announced that the Royal Navy would take over patrolling the Channel to intercept small boats from France. The hotel costs are now £5m a day.

Rights activists and others urged Rwandan authorities to free the man who inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda,” saying his health is failing after an appeals ...

We need the help of the world.” Kagame's Rwanda “is one of the world’s worst perpetrators of transnational repression,” said Nicole Bibbins Sedaca of the Freedom House group. We need the help of the international community. “The film was universally received in Rwanda at the time.” The criminal case against Rusesabagina attracted international attention because of his high profile, the circumstances surrounding his arrest in 2020, and his limited access to an independent legal team. Paul Rusesabagina, who holds Belgian citizenship and U.S. residency, is credited with sheltering a group of ethnic Tutsi during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.

Paul Kagame, president of nation where UK plans to send asylum seekers, accused of seeking to assassinate opponents.

Amnesty accused Israel of “foisting its responsibility on countries who have only a fraction of the wealth and resources”. He had not been allowed to work and was living on the streets. I have no home, there is no work,” he told the paper. Rwanda’s record in hosting refugees from DRC has in the past come under scrutiny. The United Nations also helped – they gave me money for lodging and food. Clouded in secrecy, and with Rwanda officially denying its involvement, details of the arrangement with Israel and the fate of some of those deported have been described in several reports, some of which included testimony from those who said they had been sent to Rwanda.

Under the proposal, anyone arriving in the UK without the correct documentation may be relocated to the East African nation.

“While all the details have not been provided, quite a substantial amount of money is involved,” Abdullahi Halakhe, an expert on African security, told Quartz. “That’s a direct benefit. The number of migrants heading for the UK is growing. The UK says Rwanda will be paid a set amount per relocated person.

The agreement between London and Kigali is part of the president's campaign to burnish his reputation abroad.

Paul Rusesabagina is serving 25 years for 'terrorism offences', with his family saying he was kidnapped while on a flight from Dubai to Burundi and given an ...

As for ‘why Rwanda?’ – Well, the Tories have had a strange love affair with Kagame since he addressed their Party Conference as the star turn in 2007. Never mind that, in Britain, the number of asylum applications is dropping. But not since the genocide, when a million Rwandans were murdered in 100 days, have I felt such an ominous sense of dread about that country’s direction. A previous similar scheme by Israel – shrouded in secrecy – appears to have ended in disaster. The deal was agreed weeks ago and kept ‘oven ready’ for a political emergency. He is serving 25 years for ‘terrorism offences’, after family say he was kidnapped while on a flight from Dubai to Burundi and given an unfair trial.

People seeking asylum in the UK could now be relocated to Rwanda under a controversial new scheme blasted by international human rights groups as ...

The English Channel, a narrow waterway between Britain and France, is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. "Rwanda has a known track record of extrajudicial killings, suspicious deaths in custody, unlawful or arbitrary detention, torture, and abusive prosecutions, particularly targeting critics and dissidents. Such arrangements simply shift asylum responsibilities, evade international obligations, and are contrary to the letter and spirit of the Refugee Convention," Triggs said. They should not be traded like commodities and transferred abroad for processing," UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Gillian Triggs said in a statement. "Experience shows that these agreements are eye-wateringly expensive usually. They often violate international law.

Some asylum seekers arriving in the UK will be sent to Rwanda but what's in the deal for the two nations?

Priti Patel has faced a great deal of criticism in recent weeks, often from MPs on her own side. Home Office officials decide they do indeed have a well-founded fear of persecution in their country of origin. The new plan would mean politicians could pick and choose. But in reaching the UK, they make themselves inadmissible for asylum. For the home secretary and the prime minister, that appears to be the long-term aim: to stop all asylum seekers from coming to Britain. Instead, we are promised a network of safe routes from UN-run refugee camps. They are faced with Catch 22.

A deal reportedly made by the United Kingdom to send some migrants for processing and relocation to the Central African nation of Rwanda, are at odds with ...

Opposition politicians and refugee groups are condemning the plan as unworkable, inhumane and a waste of public money.

LONDON (AP) — Britain announced a deal with Rwanda on Thursday to send some asylum-seekers thousands of miles to the East African country — a plan it said ...

Britain announced a deal with Rwanda on Thursday to send asylum-seekers thousands of miles to the East African country, which it said would deter ...

The British government says it plans to start putting asylum-seekers on one-way flights to Rwanda within weeks.

The UK government is attempting to crack down on Channel crossings by small boats and as part of the plans, the Home Office has signed a "world first" deal ...

The British government says it plans to start putting asylum-seekers on one-way flights to Rwanda within weeks.

Dr Waheed Arian fled Afghanistan at the age of 15 and now works for the NHS in Shropshire.

But critics of the Conservative government said legal and political hurdles mean the flights may never happen. They accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of ...

Britain's main Catholic refugee agency says a UK government plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda shows “a craven disregard for humanity and dignity.”

We are being misled by a PM desperate to sell a wicked policy. Rwanda, per head, hosts five times more refugees than the UK, says Joshua Surtees, ...

The British government says it plans to start putting asylum-seekers on one-way flights to Rwanda within weeks.

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, England, by the RNLI, following a small boat incident in the Channel, Thursday April ...

In a speech on Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said anyone who has entered the United Kingdom irregularly since the start of the year “may” be relocated ...

Gillian Triggs, assistant high commissioner at UNHCR, says plan is 'symbolic gesture' that will prove unworkable.

'Migrant offshoring' has been attempted elsewhere, including by Australia, proving cruel and inhumane. Regardless, the model is picking up steam.

Britain announced a deal with Rwanda on Thursday to send asylum-seekers thousands of miles to the East African country, which it said would deter ...

The British government says it plans to start putting asylum-seekers on one-way flights to Rwanda within weeks.

Letter: Rabbis and members of Britain's Jewish community call on the government to abandon its policy proposal and fulfil its duty to protect, not punish, ...

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, England, by the RNLI, following a small boat incident in the Channel, Thursday April ...