The new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the suspension of the project to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. An announcement that followed Starmer had chaired the first cabinet meeting after winning the elections,
Starmer said after the government meeting; “The Rwanda program is dead and buried before it starts. He mentioned as well that he was unwilling to continue with tricks that do not constitute a deterrent.”
Starmer’s decision comes in implementation of one of the election promises he made during the elections. Starmer was one of the most vocal opponents of his predecessor Rishi Sunak’s plan to deport illegal asylum seekers to Rwanda regardless of their origin.
According to the deportation project, asylum seekers were supposed to apply for asylum in Rwanda without the right to return to Britain. This plan has sparked a lot of controversy within Britain, especially among human rights defenders, as the project represents a violation of international obligations.
Britain faces the problem of tens of thousands of asylum seekers arriving illegally on the coasts via the English Channel.
Britain spends large amounts to house asylum seekers in hotels and other places of residence. The previous government headed by Sunak was betting on the deportation project to Rwanda to deter immigrants and reduce illegal immigration. However, in reality, the number of asylum seekers in Britain has continued to increase despite the deportation plan, and without having deported refugees to Rwanda under this project.
Britain spent hundreds of millions of pounds to sign the deportation agreement to Rwanda, despite accusations that Rwandan President Paul Kagame committed human rights violations. Despite that money, no forcibly deporting refugees to Rwanda occurred. Starmer was critical of the Conservative plan, describing it as costing nothing but taxpayers’ money.
