In its latest report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) seeks to undermine the UK government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, according to the government spokesperson.
HRW’s latest report has been described as yet ‘another deceitful’ attempt to distort Rwanda's image.
By falsely accusing Rwanda of human rights violations and violence, the organisation, whose reports over the last decades reflect its anti-Rwanda stance, urges the UK to abandon the migration partnership, Rwanda government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said.
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Though HRW claims the deal damages UK reputation, lawyers representing the British government told the country's Supreme Court during the appeal of the decision on Monday that "Rwanda can be trusted to treat humanely any asylum seekers sent to the country,” according to the BBC.
The UK decision to send asylum seekers to Rwanda seeks to end illegal human-trafficking gangs and is one of the ways the global migration issue can be fixed, according to the two governments.
HRW claims to have spoken to anonymous Rwandans ‘living in exile’ who said their safety would be threatened if the UK-Rwanda migration deal materialised. However, it is understood that some of the people quoted in the report are discredited individuals, fugitives and convicted criminals.
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Despite visits by UK officials to Rwanda where they maintained that the country was safe for any asylum seekers – thanks to decades of leadership focused on security and development – HRW still has the view that the migration partnership would be cruel.
‘Another deceitful report’
Makolo said that it looks like "HRW is still doggedly focused on distorting the reality of Rwanda in yet another deceitful report. They are shameless.”
Makolo told the media that "HRW continues to present a distorted picture of Rwanda that only exists in their imagination.”
"Any balanced assessment of Rwanda’s record in advancing the rights, well-being and dignity of Rwandans over the past 29 years would recognize remarkable, transformational progress. Rwanda will not be deterred from this work by bad-faith actors advancing a politicized agenda.”
Rwanda is home to more than 120,000 refugees some of whom have lived in the country for more than 25 years. In 2017, the Rwandan government offered refuge to migrants who were being sold as slaves in Libya.
This particular intervention, which is supported by the United Nations refugee agency and the African Union, has seen some of the rescued migrants relocated to third countries after they were processed in Rwanda.
Human Rights Watch has for years been criticised as being a tool that bullies and threatens countries in a coordinated way, which puts in question its credibility.