The plenary assembly of the Rwandan Senate on Thursday, March 21, voted in favour of the ratification of a migration treaty between the United Kingdom and the Rwandan government.

The treaty is now set for promulgation.

Signed on December 5, 2023 in Kigali by the two countries’ foreign ministers, the deal seeks to revive the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP), which was ruled unlawful by the UK Supreme Court in November of the same year.

The arrangement aims to relocate people who arrive in the UK in small boats to Rwanda where they could claim asylum.

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In the UK, the treaty, which seeks to prove that Rwanda is safe for asylum seekers from the UK, is in the House of Lords. It addresses concerns by the UK Supreme Court, which ruled that asylum seekers sent to Rwanda from the UK would risk being sent back to their countries of origin.

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UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the migration partnership with Rwanda will play a key role in stopping illegal migrants arriving in the UK through the English Channel.

In 2022, the number of people crossing the Channel on small boats exceeded 45,700, mainly lured into the country by criminal gangs on promises of jobs, according to the UK government.

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The treaty provides for creation of an appeals tribunal in Rwanda, where asylum seekers sent from the UK will be able to appeal in case their asylum claims to the European country are turned down.