British interior minister says Rwanda is safe for resettling asylum seekers

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman said Rwanda is safe to resettle migrants who arrived in the United Kingdom on small boats. The comments come amidst the British government’s deal to deport migrants claiming asylum in the UK to Rwanda.

Braverman was pressed by the BBC on the violent 2018 protest in Rwanda over rations in a camp. Rwandan police at the time said that the protests led to five refugees' dead. Braverman said that while she was not familiar with the incident, she was “on strong ground” that Rwanda was a safe country and that it was the solution to the UK’s migrant issue.

“We’re looking at 2023 and beyond,” said Braverman. “The High Court – senior expert judges – have looked into the detail of our arrangement with Rwanda and found it to be a safe country and found our arrangements to be lawful.”

Braverman added that the ministers were looking at “all sorts of land and sites and vessels” to settle asylum seekers in the UK but did not reveal whether the government was close to a deal on acquiring a barge. Braverman said the government was “talking to a lot of operators, a lot of owners, and lots of different kinds of property around the country.”

Separately, Braverman said on Sky News that the British High Court ruled in the Conservative government’s favor at the end of 2022 regarding Rwanda.

“We’ve not introduced legislation. We want to move as quickly as possible to relocate people from the UK to Rwanda,” said Braverman.

Braverman’s comments come amidst the government’s goal to send thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda as part of a $148 million deal to deter people from crossing the English Channel on small boats. The plan was first announced in April last year, but the first deportation was blocked last minute by the European Court of Human Rights.

Last week, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights urged the British parliament to block the new legislation on migrants, saying that the law would create “clear and direct tension” with the fundamental standards. The COE’s Dunja Milatovic said the Illegal Migration Bill would strip the essential part of the protection system in preventing people who arrive in the UK on small boats from having their asylum claims heard.