UK Rwanda plan 'in place,' says official

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Kingdom’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is “very much in place,” the Kurdish finance minister of the UK told Rudaw on Thursday as Britain aims to cut the roots of illegal migration.

The UK in April signed the agreement with Rwanda in a bid to deter illegal migrants from undertaking perilous crossing of the English Channel by small boats run by smugglers.

Widely condemned by rights groups and civil unions, UK’s finance minister and conservative MP said the British government is “determined” to send migrants to Rwanda.

“That policy is very much in place … the [British] government is determined to do that,” Nadhim Zahawi told Rudaw’s Diyar Kurda during a visit to Washington.

“Rwanda is a place that needs immigration. It is building its economy successfully. And I think that is the right policy,” he added.

Despite the plan, the British government last month said the number of migrants crossing the English Channel to the UK from France has hit a new high.

Some 22,670 crossings have been recorded as of August 23, it said. 

A flight carrying a few dozen asylum seekers to Rwanda in June was canceled shortly before its departure. 

“If you want to come to that kingdom, apply through the legal routes and you will be considered but if you come through an illegal route you will be automatically sent to Rwanda,” Zahawi added.

The UK had delivered an up-front payment to the African nation of about $157 million to help pay for resettlement and integration of the asylum seekers.

Human Rights Watch has previously warned of the situation in Rwanda with “grave concern.”

"To this day, serious human rights abuses continue to occur in Rwanda, including repression of free speech, arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and torture,” wrote the rights group in a letter directed to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, who has described Rwanda as a “safe haven for refugees.”

The plan could affect hundreds of Kurds seeking to make the perilous journey across the English Channel.

Thousands of people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region left the country in 2021 for Europe.

Young people have spoken of leaving the country in search of jobs and opportunities they feel they cannot access at home where unemployment is high and political tensions, corruption, and instability leave them with little hope for their future.

A boat carrying 33 migrants from different countries, including Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, capsized in the English Channel on November 24. One of the survivors told Rudaw English at the time that the incident took place in British territorial waters.