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The Rwanda plan is the British government’s response to the growing number of migrants from around the world — reaching a high of 46,000 in 2022 — who cross the English Channel from France to Britain in small boats. read more
 "Rwanda won’t refund $310 to UK for axed migrant deportation plan")
An inflatable dinghy carrying migrants passes a French navy vessel as it heads towards England in the English Channel, Britain, May 4, 2024.- Reuters
Rwanda will not refund the UK after a multi-million-pound migrant deportation deal between the two countries was cancelled. The previous Conservative government did the scheme in 2022 and the UK paid Rwanda £240 million ($310 million) to facilitate the plan.
Legal challenges prevented the scheme from being implemented, and on Monday, the UK expressed hope that some of the money from the deal could be recovered.
The migrant deal with the UK did not include any “clause regarding reimbursement” after the newly-elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would scrap the controversial agreement, CNN quoted a Rwandan government spokesperson as saying on Tuesday.
“Within the agreement there was no clause regarding reimbursement… it never stated that the money would be refunded,” spokesperson Alain Mukuralinda said in a video posted by state-owned Rwanda Broadcasting Agency.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had confirmed after winning the elections that his government would not pursue his predecessor’s policy to deport asylum seekers who arrive in small boats to Rwanda, ending the scheme before any flights took off.
Starmer had earlier promised to scrap the Conservative’s policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, but with migration a key electoral issue, he will be under pressure himself to find a way to stop tens of thousands of people arriving across the Channel from France on small boats.
Immigration has surged as a pivotal political issue since the UK’s departure from the European Union in 2020, driven largely by promises to regain control of national borders. Rwanda, home to 13 million people in Africa’s Great Lakes region, is frequently lauded for its modern infrastructure and stability, yet rights groups accuse Kagame’s government of suppressing dissent and free speech.
What is Rwanda plan
The Rwanda plan is the British government’s response to the growing number of migrants from around the world — reaching a high of 46,000 in 2022 — who cross the English Channel from France to Britain in small boats.
Most people who arrive that way apply for asylum, and in the past many have been granted it. The Conservative government says these migrants should not be treated as genuine refugees because they did not claim asylum in another safe country, such as France, that they reached first.
In an attempt to deter people from making the risky journeys, the U.K. struck a deal with Rwanda in April 2022 to send migrants who arrive in the U.K. as stowaways or in boats to the East African country, where their asylum claims would be processed and, if successful, they would stay.
Human rights groups and other critics of the plan say it is unworkable and unethical to send migrants to a country 4,000 miles (6,400 miles) away that they don’t want to live in. No one has yet been sent to Rwanda, but Sunak has said the first flights will leave in July.
With inputs from agencies.
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English (US) ·