Rwanda policy can repair broken global asylum system, says Patel
‘We need new solutions, like our Rwanda partnership, that address the challenges we face in the 21st century’
PRITI PATEL has said there is an “urgent moral imperative” to send migrants to Rwanda as she prepares to confront the UN over her plans.
The Home Secretary will travel with Vincent Bruta, Rwanda’s foreign affairs minister, to Geneva today to urge the UN Refugee Agency to stop denigrating the policy.
They will say that those who are criticising their policy are failing to come up with viable alternatives to repair a “broken” global asylum system.
In a joint article on The Telegraph website, the two ministers said people smugglers who were exploiting the failed asylum system by persuading migrants to make the dangerous journey across the Channel from a “safe” country needed to be stopped.
“There is an urgent moral imperative to defeat these gangs and shut down illegal routes,” they wrote.
“Not only have lives been lost, not only should asylum be claimed in the first country reached, but illegal routes are totally unfair, giving those with the means to pay people smugglers an advantage over those in greatest need. The challenge, then, is to find a sustainable solution that is fair to everybody.”
Under the policy, migrants will be sent from the UK to claim asylum in the African state. Boris Johnson wanted the first flights to leave for Rwanda at the end of this month but they are expected to be delayed by legal challenges over breaches of human rights.
A government source said: “The ministers will travel to Geneva to explain the [Rwandan policy] to the international organisations who were quick to rubbish it. The tired and outdated international system is broken. We need new solutions, like our Rwanda partnership, that address the challenges we face in the 21st century.”
In their article, Ms Patel and Mr Bruta said other countries were already keen to engage in similar schemes, citing Denmark’s talks with Rwanda for the transfer of asylum seekers.