London pays Rwanda 240 million for the asylum pact London pays Rwanda 240 million for the asylum pact

The British government has so far transferred Rwanda 240 million pounds (almost R264 million) for the asylum pact, which has so far failed due to court rulings.

This is evident from a written response from the British Home Office to the question from the Public Expenditure Committee on Thursday. Accordingly, this year, in addition to the already known £140 million last year, another £100 million flowed into the East African country. A further payment of £50 million is expected next year, the letter said.

The plan is for those seeking protection who have come to Britain irregularly to be sent to Rwanda without an asylum application being processed and regardless of their origin. You must then apply for asylum there. There are no plans to return to Britain. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government wants to stop migrants from making the dangerous journey across the English Channel in small boats.

However, the project has so far failed in court. The British Supreme Court declared the project illegal in mid-November. The judges had complained that Rwanda does not have a robust asylum procedure that protects those seeking protection from deportation to their countries of origin.

The UK government now wants to address these concerns through written commitments from Kigali and new legislation. Just this week, the conclusion of a new treaty with Rwanda was announced. A law hastily introduced in parliament also aims to declare Rwanda a safe third country and rule out legal action based on human rights. The House of Commons will discuss the issue for a second reading next Tuesday. (saw/sda/dpa)