Refugees to Rwanda is hypocritical
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TORIES are hypocrites for giving sanctuary to Rwandan asylum seekers while, at the same time, planning to send Channel migrants to the African dictatorship, Labour said last night.
Some 3,610 Rwandans have sought asylum in Europe since 2017, amid claims its government’s critics are locked up, tortured and even killed.
Many more could be fleeing and seeking refuge elsewhere in Africa. Yet the Tories claim Rwanda is “one of the safest countries in the world”.
Last year officials approved letting two Rwandan asylum seekers stay in the UK, while Home Secretary Priti Patel was discussing the offshore centre scheme with its government.
Our government’s travel advice for Rwanda warns: “LGBT individuals can experience discrimination and abuse, including from local authorities. There are no specific anti-discrimination laws that protect LGBT individuals.”
Labour’s shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said: “Priti Patel’s Rwanda deal is both unworkable and eye-wateringly expensive.
Executions
“It’s driven by rank hypocrisy, because it’s based on sending people to a country from which thousands are already fleeing persecution.”
Lewis Mudge, of charity Human Rights Watch, said: “It’s deeply cynical. Rwanda is a country where people have to flee, where basic human rights are not respected. Political opponents are locked up, harassed, threatened or worse.
“We’ve documented cases where they have disappeared, never to be seen again. Extrajudicial executions are not uncommon. Those who are sent there will never be able to speak out honestly about the conditions in which they are held.”
Human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, of the charity Reprieve, said unless those sent to Rwanda are locked up they will try again to reach Europe.
He added: “Then, you’re imprisoning people who are suffering persecution. We’re going to end up treating people like criminals when they’re victims.”
Zoe Gardner, of the campaigning Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said: “As we’ve told this government time and again, the only way to prevent perilous crossings and protect lives is by introducing fair and effective asylum rules.”
Some 76 Rwandan asylum seekers have made the perilous journey to the UK since 2017. Of these, 15 were allowed to stay here five years as there were “substantial grounds”they would face risk of “serious harm” if returned to their home country. Five were allowed to remain in the UK temporarily.