UK accused of double standards regarding Rwanda bill

GABORONE, Botswana — Botswanan experts have accused Britain of double standards regarding the deportation of asylum seekers to Africa.

Late last month, the British parliament passed a controversial bill that paved the way for the country to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Thapelo Bulawa, a senior law lecturer at the University of Botswana, said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had pushed for the bill to be passed over the past two years despite strong opposition.

Lawmakers and activists did everything within their power to scupper the legislation on human rights grounds, but the British government remained determined, Bulawa said.

“Imagine a refugee from Palestine, Afghanistan, or some war-torn country finding his or her way into Britain, only to be deported to Rwanda under the deal that the two countries agreed to,” Bulawa said.

“This kind of hypocrisy is what is happening under the Rwanda Asylum Plan.” Under the plan, the first asylum seeker was sent to Rwanda from Britain on April 30.

Tendai Ruben Mbofana, a human rights activist and the director at Botswana Network for Social Justice, a local think tank on human rights issues, said that those fleeing persecution should be provided with protection.

Lack of moral obligation

“There is a moral imperative to help people escape violence and upheavals. And Britain has shown a lack of moral obligation by rejecting asylum seekers before passing them to another country,” said Mbofana.

Mbofana said the actions taken by Britain clearly show that “it does not care about the humanity and dignity of those seeking assistance”.

Botswanan Minister of Foreign Affairs Lemogang Kwape said Botswana was approached by British authorities but turned down the proposal “because it is riddled with controversy.”

“We have got a reputation to protect as a country. It is not that we are refusing to host asylum seekers, but things have to be done correctly,” Kwape said.

Britain was offering large sums of money to many African countries to accept rejected asylum seekers, but Botswana could not fall into the trap because “we did not want to regret in future for entering into a dodgy deal with Britain,” said Kwape.

Britain’s opposition Labour Party on Friday pledged to scrap the Rwanda policy if it comes to power, replacing it with a tougher more joined-up approach to tackling irregular migration.

Labour, which is widely expected to win the next general election later this year after 14 years in opposition, has been under mounting pressure to say what it will do if it is voted into office.

In a speech, Labour leader Keir Starmer called Sunak’s “stop the boats” policy an ineffective “gimmick” that was neither a deterrent nor value for money.

More than 8,800 people have crossed the Channel from northern France already this year, while a backlog in asylum claims has left about 52,000 stuck in government temporary accommodation, he said.