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Agence France-Presse

The Rwandan government said on Tuesday that its controversial migrant deal with the UK did not stipulate the return of funds, following the decision by Britain’s new government to scrap the scheme.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had announced on Saturday that the plan forged by the ousted Conservative government to deport asylum seekers to the East African country was “dead and buried”.
London has already paid Kigali £240 million (US$306 million) since former prime minister Boris Johnson first announced the plan in April 2022.
There had been a spate of legal challenges, however, with the UK Supreme Court in November last year ruling that it was illegal under international law.

“The agreement we signed did not stipulate that we should return the money. Let this be clear, paying back the money was never part of the agreement,” Rwanda’s deputy government spokesman Alain Mukuralinda told state television on Tuesday.
He said the UK had approached Rwanda and requested a partnership, which was “discussed extensively”.
“The agreement went to the courts, and it was even amended after the results from the courts,” he said.
“It went to the parliament and eventually became a treaty between two countries. A treaty provides an exit clause.”
Immigration has become an increasingly central political issue since Britain left the European Union in 2020, largely on a promise to “take back control” of the country’s borders.
Rwanda, home to 13 million people in Africa’s Great Lakes region, claims to be one of the most stable countries on the continent and has drawn praise for its modern infrastructure.
But rights groups accuse veteran President Paul Kagame of ruling in a climate of fear, stifling dissent and free speech.


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Africa

Rwanda says UK migrant deal did not stipulate return of funds

A facility in Kigali, Rwanda, that was meant to accommodate migrants deported from the UK. File photo: AFP

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Photo: Pool Photo via AP

Rwanda says it is aware of the UK’s intention to terminate contentious deportation scheme

Immigration has become an increasingly central political issue since the UK left the European Union in 2020. File photo: AFP

UK’s Starmer seeks ‘reset’ on tour of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales after victory

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets Scottish First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney. Photo: Scott Heppell via Reuters

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaking to the media in Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo: AFP

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosting his first Cabinet meeting on Saturday. Photo: The Sun/PA Wire/dpa

John Healey, Britain’s new defence minister, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Odesa, Ukraine. Photo: Ministry of Defence via AP

Migrants face ‘unimaginable horrors’ crossing Africa to reach Mediterranean, says UN

Irregular Nigerian migrants are given documents prior to their June departure from Libya’s anti-migration bureau, which is tasked with coordinating deportations of foreigners in the country illegally. Photo: AFP

Migrants expelled from Algeria are forced to walk into the Sahara desert, in this screenshot from a video. File photo: AP/Ju Dennis

Nigerian migrants board a bus in June at Libya’s anti-migration bureau, which is tasked with coordinating deportations of foreigners in the country illegally. Photo: AFP

UK gives date for first Rwanda asylum seekers’ deportation flights

The British government says it intends to begin deporting asylum seekers on July 23, court documents showed on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Migrants, picked up at sea attempting to cross the English Channel, are helped ashore on the southeast coast of England. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sought to deport migrants thousands of miles away to Rwanda. Photo: AFP

Human rights group begins legal action over UK’s Rwanda migrant policy, before PM Sunak can launch plan

Campaigners protest the UK government’s Rwanda deportation plan. Asylum Aid launched a legal challenge against the policy, which PM Rishi Sunak aims to launch within weeks. Photo: EPA-EFE

UK PM Rishi Sunak aims to launch his policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda soon. Photo: AP

People believed to be migrants, disembark from a British Border Force vessel as they arrive at the Port of Dover in Dover, Britain on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Migrants walk in the water trying to board a smuggler’s boat in an attempt to cross the English Channel. Photo: AFP

News

World

Europe

London paid Kigali US$306 million before the UK’s new prime minister declared the deportation scheme ‘dead and buried’


London paid Kigali US$306 million before new UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared the deportation scheme ‘dead and buried’.
