EngRegional
How can Rwanda be safe for asylum seekers from other countries and unsafe for those from UK?
In March, Rwanda received 91 asylum seekers from Libya. This was in accordance with a 2019 MoU, signed between the UNHCR, AU, and Rwanda, for the latter to provide a transit mechanism for refugees and asylum seekers evacuated from Libya.
Additionally, Rwanda hosts thousands of refugees and asylum seekers in partnership with UNHCR. As of end September 2023, Rwanda hosted 135,733 refugees, asylum seekers, and other displaced people.
In the conspiracy of misinformation on how ‘unsafe’ Rwanda is, it is baffling to see that the United Nations High Commission for Refugees also joined the list, yet the UN agency is working with Rwanda on other projects to settle asylum seekers and refugees in Rwanda.
Can the UNHCR explain how Rwanda can be a safe country for asylum seekers and refugees from other countries and also be unsafe when it comes to asylum seekers from the UK?
The case of UNHCR’s double standards on Rwanda is evidence that the claim of lack of safety for asylum seekers is simply politically motivated to tarnish the image of Rwanda.
To the contrary, according to the “Africa: Crime Index by Country 2024” report, Rwanda ranks among Africa’s top 10 safest countries on the continent. Rwanda comes first with a 73.2 per cent safety index, beating the next top country, Ghana, (56.1%) by 17.1 points.
Since the United Kingdom and the government of Rwanda signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on April 14, 2022, establishing the UK- Rwanda Asylum Partnership, Rwanda has frequently been in the news of major British media houses for the wrong reasons.
Secondly, UK politicians in the House of Commons and the House of Lords have made several rounds with the “UK-Rwanda Bill”, some in support while others have been against, almost causing a parliamentary standoff.
Under the UK-Rwanda agreement, some asylum seekers illegally arriving in the UK would be sent to Rwanda, to have their claims processed there. If successful, they could be granted refugee status and allowed to stay. If not, they could apply to settle in Rwanda on other grounds, or seek asylum in another safe third country.
What is clear about the “UK-Rwanda Bill” which has caused a “parliamentary Ping-Pong” is that the political differences between the two houses of the UK parliament used it as an opportunity to play internal politics rather than focus on the safety and humanitarian side of the asylum seekers. It is a political showdown between the Tories and Labour Party.
Some British politicians and other interested parties like lawyers for asylum seekers, Non-governmental Organizations that profit from asylum seekers, and journalists, resorted to media houses with bias and misinformation about the UK-Rwanda Asylum Partnership.
The UK media also sought out Rwandan asylum seekers in UK and Europe to testify on the safety of the asylum seekers while in Rwanda. Journalists selectively choose sources who will give them a bad impression of Rwanda. Among those quoted as their sources on Rwanda being unsafe, include Rwandan genocide suspects and genocide deniers living freely in UK and Europe, as well as anti Rwanda crusaders like Michella Wrong, Jude Rever, Filip Reyntjens, Anjan Sundarama, and others.
The UK media coverage has put up efforts to build a narrative that Rwanda is an unsafe country for asylum seekers with intentions to frustrate the UK-Rwanda Asylum seekers Partnership.
Secondly, the media coverage also misinforms their audience that Rwanda is driven into the deal because of the millions of dollars involved in the process of transferring and accommodating the asylum seekers in Rwanda.
Rwandan authorities have dismissed another claim that the country will profit from millions of pounds from UK tax payers’ money by hosting asylum seekers. Rwanda, instead, is driven by an African philosophy of ‘Ubuntu’ which means ‘humanity to others’.
The money will be used to construct high quality-housing units to provide the asylum seekers with descent living conditions. Also, each individual will be given a fitting living allowance for the period of their stay in Rwanda.
It should be recalled that this partnership is innovative and the first of its kind aimed at stopping the ‘small boats’ to UK and also providing decent living conditions in Rwanda for asylum seekers.
Rwandans passed through a bitter history of human suffering as refugees and asylum seekers for more than three decades. The climax of such human suffering happened in 1994, when a genocide against the Tutsi was committed. Although Rwanda is a small country, geographically, the people and their leadership have a big heart to reach out and help any suffering people anywhere in the world.
