Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a 115-page report, on October 10, claiming that Rwanda is not a country the UK should rely upon to uphold international standards or the rule of law when it comes to asylum seekers.

HRW has spent the last three decades relentlessly driving an anti-Rwanda agenda that has nothing to do with protecting the rights of Rwandans and their latest report shows clear intent to disrupt the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with the United Kingdom.

Related: Of Human Rights Watch unrelenting conspiracy against Rwanda

"In April 2022, the UK and Rwandan governments announced the signing of a new asylum partnership arrangement, under which the UK plans to expel to Rwanda people seeking asylum in the UK. The UK Court of Appeal in June found the asylum deal unlawful because asylum seekers sent to Rwanda risk being sent back to their home countries, where they may face mistreatment,” reads part of the HRW report.

But what HRW explicitly ignored is that this deal is a humanitarian act.

The policy’s aim is to decrease the number of migrant crossings in the English Channel, stop human smuggling, save countless lives and break the business model of vile people smugglers.

Since 2014, more than 27,000 people have lost their lives, went missing in the Mediterranean Sea in their attempt to reach Europe. In 2022, it was estimated that 2,062 migrants died while crossing.

Rwanda is doing its part in finding a solution, to this global crisis, something that HRW is ignoring.

The deal seeks to empower the migrants with a range of opportunities for building a better life in Rwanda through different initiatives. They will be entitled to full protection under Rwandan law, equal access to employment, and enrolment in healthcare and social care services, among others.

The number of migrants who die while crossing seas, oceans and deserts trying to get to Europe, increases yearly.

They are searching for a country that will respect their human rights, an issue the so-called rights group should be able to understand. By detracting this policy, is Human Rights Watch really advocating for human rights?

Rwanda is already home to more than 130,000 refugees from different countries and other asylum seekers from Libya and Afghanistan. They are safe and secure, and assisted in various aspects of life whether economically or socially.

In June 2022, after Rwanda successfully hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit (CHOGM), former British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, called on critics of the UK-Rwanda asylum plan to visit Rwanda and see how the country is “really going places.”

After his trip to Rwanda, Johnson told the press that he was shocked by those who paint a picture of Rwanda as a country where asylum seekers are likely to die because of “human rights violation”. It shows that they have not been to Rwanda or are simply driven by hate and profit to tarnish the image of the country.

To prove that Rwanda is ‘not safe’, HRW focused on claims of discredited sources including génocidaires and convicted terrorists, which exposes the organization’s intent to frustrate the Rwanda-UK deal, regardless of their sources’ questionable background and credibility.

Related: Which type of sources does HRW rely on for information on Rwanda?

For Rwanda, the goal remains the same; working with partners to solve global challenges when called upon.

The country will not be deterred from this work by bad-faith actors advancing a politicized agenda.