Britain plans to send stowaways to Rwanda, former cabinet minister: equivalent to building a "British Guantanamo Bay"
[Global Times Special Correspondent in the UK Ji Shuangcheng] The British government announced on the 14th that it plans to repatriate and resettle those who smuggled to the UK to Rwanda, an African country, to deal with the serious smuggling phenomenon in the English Channel.
"The United Kingdom will provide asylum seekers with a one-way ticket to Rwanda," according to a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on the 14th, British Prime Minister Johnson said on the same day when introducing the British government's plan to "transfer asylum seekers overseas" Stowaways who have crossed the English Channel to the UK and who have arrived in the UK since January 1 this year may be diverted to Rwanda.
Johnson also said that Rwanda has the capacity to accept tens of thousands of immigrants in the next few years, so the immigration program will not have a cap.
According to the BBC, the scheme will mainly target young male stowaways.
Johnson also announced on the 14th that from now on, the British navy will take over the patrol of the English Channel from the Border Force, "not allowing any (smuggling) ships to escape the surveillance and enter the United Kingdom."
According to a report by Rwanda's ktpress news network on the 14th, British Home Secretary Priti Patel signed the Ing-Rwanda "Migration and Economic Development Partnership Agreement" in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
According to the agreement, the Rwandan government will be responsible for taking care of immigrants sent from the United Kingdom in the newly built immigrant reception center and processing their asylum applications. If approved, they will be able to live there for a long time and enjoy full legal protection, equal employment opportunities and medical care. right.
Those who do not pass the application will be sent back to their country of origin.
Rwanda government spokesman Yolande Makolo said on the same day that Rwanda believes that the innovative approach initiated by the UK and Rwanda is expected to set a precedent for the world to deal with the migration crisis.
The British "Times" said that the United Kingdom will invest 120 million pounds in the project in the early stage.
Patel had previously discussed the plan with Albania and Ghana but could not reach an agreement.
The British government's plan has drawn criticism from many quarters.
Former cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell warned on the 13th that the move would be tantamount to building a "British Guantanamo Bay".
Labour's shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said on the same day that it was an unworkable, unethical and extortionate scheme that would cost British taxpayers billions of pounds at a time when the cost of living was rising. costs and make it harder for refugees to obtain fair asylum.
There are also public opinions that the British move is tantamount to the Australian government sending asylum seekers to the Manus Island refugee camp in Papua New Guinea for mandatory centralized detention, which will raise serious human rights issues.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, warned on March 17 that the British plan would put asylum seekers at real risk of forced transfer, prolonged isolation and deprivation of liberty, violating their human rights and dignity.
According to Reuters, a total of more than 28,000 migrants and refugees departed from continental Europe, especially northern France, by boat to cross the English Channel to the UK last year, and there have been many tragic drownings of stowaways.