UK Tough Asylum Policy Plans To Send Migrants To Rwanda

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Britain could send tens of thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda, aiming to break people-smuggling networks and stem the flow of migrants across the Channel.

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.

But his plan drew swift criticism from opponents of his Conservative Party and from charities.

In a speech in Kent, Johnson said, “We must ensure that the only route to asylum in the UK is a safe and legal one,”

He continued, “Those who try to jump the queue or abuse our systems will find no automatic path to set them up in our country, but rather be swiftly and humanely removed to a safe third country or their country of origin.”

He added that anyone who has arrived in Britain illegally since Jan. 1 could now be relocated to Rwanda, which would disrupt the business model of people-smuggling gangs.

But the plan has drawn strong criticism from opposition parties, with interior minister Priti Patel’s Labour Party counterpart, Yvette Cooper, saying it was costly, “unworkable and unethical”.

The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) also voiced opposition.

UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Gillian Triggs said People fleeing war, conflict and persecution deserve compassion and empathy.

Concerns were also raised about Rwanda’s human rights record, which the British government itself noted last year.