Her Home Secretary Britannia Swella Braverman today defended a plan to deport UK asylum seekers illegally to Rwanda, calling it “humanitarian” and “compassionate”.

Conservatives make riot control a priority immigrationwhich was also one of his main promises Brexit. But the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats is on the rise, with some 45,000 people reaching England’s shores since the start of the year, up from 28,526 in 2021.

Believing that this would deter potential immigrants, the government made a deal with Rwanda to send them to that country.

“I sincerely believe that this cooperation between two allies and friends, the United Kingdom and Rwanda, will pave the way for finding a humane and compassionate solution,” Braverman told reporters, accompanied by Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta. Braverman argued that there was a “global migrant crisis”.

Plan to “save lives”

The plan “will not only help dismantle criminal networks of human trafficking, but also save lives,” Biruta assured.

In December, the London High Court gave the green light to the controversial plan, which Rishi Sunak’s government wants to implement as quickly as possible. But a month later, the British judiciary accepted an appeal against this agreement.

The first flight that brought migrants to Rwanda last June was canceled following a decision by the European Court of Human Rights, which called for an in-depth review of the policy.

Rwanda, ruled with an iron fist by Paul Kagame since the end of the 1994 genocide in which 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Houthis were killed, according to the UN, is often accused of suppressing free speech by NGOs, government critics and opposition politicians. .

Earlier today in various British cities (London, Glasgow, Cardiff, etc.) there were thousands of demonstrations against the government’s immigration policy. Some wore badges with the slogan “Safe Passage, Not Rwanda”.

Many British media, such as the Guardian and the BBC, were not invited to cover the Home Secretary’s visit to Rwanda.

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP.}