UK interior minister travels to Rwanda to resurrect asylum plan
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Transcript
00:00 "Time to get control of immigration once and for all."
00:04 These were the words of the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of UK Home Secretary James
00:09 Cleaverley's visit to Rwanda this Tuesday.
00:12 The aim of his visit is to sign a new agreement with Kigali to send asylum seekers to the
00:18 African nation.
00:19 A previous agreement, intended to deter migrants from seeking to reach the UK, was blocked
00:25 by the country's top court last month.
00:27 "Rwanda has a poor human rights record.
00:31 In 2021, the UK government criticised the Rwandan government for extrajudicial killings,
00:39 deaths in custody, enforced disappearances and torture."
00:45 The court also raised concerns about Rwanda returning migrants to their countries of origin.
00:50 The UK authorities are now seeking to renegotiate the terms of the deal to include a binding
00:55 treaty forcing Rwanda not to expel asylum seekers, one of the court's major concerns.
01:01 They've also discussed passing a law declaring Rwanda a safe destination.
01:06 Under the previous plan, the migrants could be granted refugee status to stay in Rwanda,
01:11 or they could apply to settle there on other grounds, or seek asylum in another safe third
01:16 country.
01:17 In June 2022, Europe's top human rights courts blocked a first deportation flight.
01:23 This ruling was centred on the case of an Iraqi national, but it was enough to ground
01:27 the entire flight.
01:29 The head of the UN's refugee agency has described the UK government's Rwanda plan as setting
01:34 a "catastrophic precedent".
01:37 It's also faced opposition at home, with Labour leader Keir Starmer asking the prime minister
01:42 to answer over the £140 million that have already been spent on the stalled deal.
01:47 (wind whooshing)