The Rwandan government said 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 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 ($307 million) since ex-PM Boris Johnson first announced the scheme in April 2022, despite a slew of legal challenges over the plan in the UK that had prevented it from ever getting up and running.
“The agreement we signed did not stipulate that we should return the money,” Rwanda’s deputy government spokesperson Alain Mukuralinda told state television on Tuesday.
“Let this be clear, paying back the money was never part of the agreement.”
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Mukuralinda 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.
A spate of legal challenges had dogged the controversial scheme, with the UK Supreme Court in November last year ruling that it was illegal under international law.
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However, earlier this year, Sunak had pushed through legislation in parliament that deemed Rwanda a safe country, clearing one hurdle for the flights despite concerns about human rights laws.
“It went to the parliament and eventually became a treaty between two countries. A treaty provides an exit clause,” Mukuralinda said.
The Labour Party said before the July 4 election that it would ditch the scheme, which the Conservative government had said was designed to deter huge numbers of migrants trying to get across the Channel to the UK on boats from northern France.
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Following the leftwing party’s landslide win earlier this month, Starmer announced in his first press conference that the scheme would be scrapped.
“The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started,” he told reporters.
“I’m not prepared to continue with gimmicks that don’t act as a deterrent.”
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Starmer said previously that Sunak’s policy was neither a deterrent nor value for money, instead pledging to tackle the issue “upstream” by smashing the people-smuggling gangs behind the crossings.
Immigration has become an increasingly central political issue since the UK 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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