The governments of Rwanda and the United Kingdom have announced a major partnership under which the former will receive migrants and asylum seekers from the UK, heralding an ‘innovative and bold’ approach to help address the global immigration crisis.
The deal, initially for five years, was signed in the Rwandan capital of Kigali Thursday, April 14, by Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Dr Vincent Biruta and the UK Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Both sides have touted the partnership, dubbed, ‘Migration and Economic Development Partnership’, as a bold initiative that "will address this urgent humanitarian crisis by tackling its roots.”
"By relocating migrants to Rwanda and investing in personal development and employment for migrants, our nations are taking bold steps to address the imbalance in global opportunities which drives illegal migration, while dismantling the incentive structures which empower criminal gangs and endanger innocent lives,” a joint statement reads in part.
The partnership will disrupt the business model of organised crime gangs and deter migrants from putting their lives at risk, it adds.
It says the partnership will "prioritise the dignity and rights of migrants, empowering them with a range of opportunities for building a better life in a country which has been consistently ranked as one of the world’s safest.”
"Rwanda is committed to international co-operation and partnership on migration, in particular the opportunities that a robust protection system as well as a comprehensive human capital investment programme can create, for migrants and for development of the host country,” Biruta said at the signing ceremony.
Need for ‘new world-leading solutions’
Both Biruta and Patel praised the partnership, a "first in the world", as an innovative solution to a broken global immigration system.
Dr Biruta said: "There is a global responsibility to prioritise the safety and well-being of migrants, and Rwanda welcomes this partnership with the United Kingdom to host asylum seekers and migrants, and offer them legal pathways to residence.
"This is about ensuring that people are protected, respected, and empowered to further their own ambitions and settle permanently in Rwanda if they choose.”
On her part, Patel said the "global migration crisis and how we tackle illegal migration requires new world-leading solutions. There are an estimated 80 million people displaced in the world and the global approach to asylum and migration is broken.
"Existing approaches have failed and there is no single solution to tackle these problems. Change is needed because people are dying attempting to come to the UK illegally.”
She added: "Today, we have signed a world leading migration partnership with the Rwandan Government which can see those arriving illegally into the UK by dangerous methods relocated to Rwanda to have their claims for asylum considered and, if recognised as refugees, to build their lives there – helping break the people smugglers’ business model and prevent loss of life.”
Those set to benefit from the programme "will be entitled to full protection under Rwandan law, equal access to employment, and enrolment in healthcare and social care services.”
The migrants will be integrated into communities across Rwanda, officials said.
The officials cited Rwanda’s strong record of providing safety to people fleeing danger, including nearly 130,000 refugees from mainly neighbours DR Congo and Burundi, as well as Afghanistan and migrants evacuated from Libya.
"This proves Rwanda’s commitment to protecting vulnerable people around the world, a principle which always governs the international policy of the Government of Rwanda,” said the statement.
Rwanda is one of the safest countries - PM Johnson
"The country has a deep connection to the plight of those seeking safety and opportunity in a new land – this has shaped the country’s approach to migration and asylum issues,” the joint statement reads in part.
Meanwhile, speaking in Kent in a major speech on migration shortly before the signing in Kigali, on Thursday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said "Rwanda is one of the safest countries in the world globally recognised for its record of welcoming and integrating the migrants.”
Around 600 people arrived in the UK through the Channel on Wednesday, April 13 alone, he said, warning that the number of arrivals could reach 1000 a day "in just a few days."
More than 28,000 people crossed the English Channel into the UK last year alone, more than triple the number of those who had crossed the previous year.
"Vile people smugglers,” said PM Johnson, were "abusing the vulnerable and turning the Channel into a watery graveyard, with men, women and children drowning in unseaworthy boats and suffocating in refrigerated lorries.”
In December last year 27 people drowned in the Channel attempting to reach the UK.
A broken migration and asylum system is failing to protect the vulnerable, and empowering criminal smuggling gangs at an immeasurable human cost, Ministers Biruta and Patel told a news conference in Kigali.
The Rwanda-UK Migration and Economic Development Partnership, they said, "addresses the roots of this crisis by tackling the global inequalities of opportunity that drive economic migrants from their homes causing unsustainable levels of demand on the system.”
As part of the deal, an Economic Transformation and Integration Fund has been set up with a view to "creating professional and personal development opportunities for migrants and Rwandans alike, and rebalancing the inequalities at the heart of the global migration crisis.”
As such, it was announced that the UK will invest an upfront £120 million to fund "invaluable opportunities for Rwandans and migrants, including secondary qualifications, vocational and skills training, language lessons, and higher education.”
"Deep global inequalities are driving millions of people from their homes in search of opportunity, at the same time as millions are forcibly displaced by conflict, persecution, and other threats to safety,” according to the statement.
"This has created immense demands on the immigration systems of many countries, including the UK. This situation has driven vulnerable people to place their lives in the hands of criminal smuggling gangs, resulting in countless tragedies.”
Rwanda says the development reflects its "commitments to protecting vulnerable people around the world, and ensuring development and prosperity for Rwanda and its people.”
It says its turbulent history, which made Rwanda one of the first African countries to produce refugees, has "embedded a responsibility to protect vulnerable people.”
Officials also pointed out that Rwanda has been an active contributor to peacekeeping missions and other humanitarian initiatives around the world.
‘Rwanda voice is African voice’
Rwanda "is a regional and international leader”, Patel said. "Your national voice is the African voice in international initiatives, which speaks to seeking solutions to regional and international challenges.”
"The UK asylum system is collapsing under a combination of real humanitarian crises and evil people smugglers profiteering by exploiting the system for their own gains.
"Criminals are exploiting the hopes and fears of immigrants pushing them to make dangerous journeys to the UK with fictitious and false promises that they can settle in the UK if they make it. And this has devastating consequences for the countless men and women who have tragically lost their lives or loved ones on perilous journeys.”
It is also deeply unfair because it advantages those with the means to pay smugglers over the vulnerable who cannot, she added.
"Global systems and conventions have failed to address this global crisis, and the world has changed and new global leadership is required to find new innovative solutions to this growing problem.”
The deal seeks to put an end to this deadly trade in people smuggling, she said. "The tragic loss of life of people in the Channel and in the Mediterranean at the hands of these evil people smugglers must stop,” Patel said.
The visiting UK Home Secretary said the partnership with Rwanda is "part of the United Kingdom’s new plan for immigration to control our borders, protect our communities, stop dangerous illegal migration, help the world’s most desperate people and welcome international talent to the UK. It is the biggest overhaul of our immigration system in decades.”
PM Johnson said the partnership concerns all migrants that arrived in the UK illegally effective January 1, 2022 and those who will be arriving after.
He said "the deal we’ve done is uncapped and Rwanda will have capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead.”
"We are confident that our new migration partnership is fully compliant with our international legal obligations, but nevertheless we expect this will be challenged in courts….I know this system will not take effect overnight but I promise that we will do what it takes to deliver this new approach,” he said.