Africa press review

In the spotlight: no migrant charter to Rwanda

Audio 04:05

The Boeing 767 which was to bring migrants to Rwanda, at the Amesbury military base, June 14, 2022. © AFP/Justin Tallis

By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

4 mins

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Last minute decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR): the plane which was to take off Tuesday evening June 14 for Kigali, with on board migrants who entered British territory illegally, remained grounded .

The information made the front page of the

New Times

in Kigali: " 

The injunction was requested by an Iraqi national who had appealed against his transfer

", explains the Rwandan daily.

This led other migrants to go to the same European court and therefore delayed the transfer process.

On April 14,

the newspaper recalls,

Rwanda and the United Kingdom announced a major partnership under which Rwanda was to receive migrants and asylum seekers from the United Kingdom.

(…)

A solution,

says

The New Times, to remedy the shortcomings of the global asylum system and counter human trafficking.

Rwanda,

again recalls

The New Times, has already received nearly a thousand migrants stranded in Libya, the majority of whom have subsequently been resettled in other countries

 ”.

Nightmare for the ' 

damned and banished of England

 '

Admittedly, points out

Le Pays

 au Burkina, “ 

Rwanda explains its hospitality for humanitarian reasons.

But we should certainly not be mistaken… Because behind, there are certainly hidden more weighty arguments, in particular financial ones.

(…)

And by the way, President Paul Kagame, known to be a strong man, takes care of his political image.

But,

wonders

Le Pays, if we can say that this expulsion of illegal migrants is a win-win partnership for the two countries, can we say the same for the first concerned, that is to say the damned and banished from England?

There is no doubt that a dream of life in Europe that ends in the hills of Rwanda looks to many like a shipwreck, if not a nightmare.

.

(…)

In any case,

concludes

Le Pays, the solution is not the repatriation of migrants to third countries, but fair and inclusive global development.

For, as long as disparities persist, the world that is too well fed will always attract the world that is too hungry

 .

Boris Johnson's new migration policy defeated

Still, this is "a setback that undermines the new migration policy of Boris Johnson's government", notes

Le Monde Afrique

.

“ 

This flight was originally supposed to have around 130 passengers, but the vast majority of them had successfully appealed the decision to deport them to the British courts in recent days, citing personal cases – victims of torture, minors, etc. .

 And last night, there were only 7 passengers left - three Iranians, one Vietnamese, two Iraqis and one Albanian - who " 

were about to be boarded against their will.  "

(…)

In addition to the morality of the agreement between London and Kigali – denounced, exceptionally, by the entire hierarchy of the Anglican Church – it is (therefore) its legality which was also in question last night,

still points to

Le Monde Afrique.

The European Court of Human Rights took this 

"interim and urgent measure" at the very last minute,

citing the concerns of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees about the reception conditions in Rwanda, or the fact that there is no mechanism in the partnership between Kigali and London allowing deportees to return to the United Kingdom

 ”.

Finally,

Le Monde Afrique

notes that for yesterday alone, “ 

about 250 people were collected in Dover, after embarking on a crossing of the English Channel, encouraged by the good weather.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 10,000 migrants have arrived on British shores in inflatable boats

 ”.

Seytenga: 79 dead and probably more…

Also on the front page, the latest official toll of the Seytenga massacre in Burkina Faso: 79 dead… Will this figure “ 

gradually rise,

wonders

WakatSéra

,

to reach 100 or more?

An alarming report evoked by local sources and testimonies that send shivers down your spine

 ”.

“ 

The security situation seems to be getting a little worse every day,

observes

L'Observateur Paalga

,

while the Burkinabè cherished the secret hope that with the arrival of the military in power, it would improve

 ”.

Well no…

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