Priti Patel maintains that flights to Rwanda will take off.
United Kingdom Home Secretary, Priti Patel says flights for UK illegal Immigrants to Rwanda must commence to prevent further loss of life in the English Channel.
She made the observation ahead of today’s High Court action that will rule out whether relocating some immigrants to Rwanda is legal, or not. The hearing – scheduled to last five days from Monday 5.
“Those behind these challenges have regrettably delayed the implementation of our partnership and have only succeeded in giving succour to the people-smuggling gangs, resulting in more people boarding flimsy craft,” Patel told the Media.
“The sooner we can deliver this policy, the sooner we can break the business model of the evil people smugglers and prevent further loss of life in the Channel,” she added.
Since the illegal immigrant’s crisis started four years ago, August this year marked the highest monthly influx of migrants to the UK, according to UK Ministry of Defence data.
A total of 8,644 people were taken off 189 inflatables last month, including a daily record of 1,295 on August 22. After a flimsy boat capsized close to the French port of Calais in November of last year, over 27 migrants perished.
According to reports, a survivor described how the French and British government officials both refused to take responsibility for the sinking boat. With 960 arriving here on Saturday in 20 tiny boats, the number of crossings has surpassed 26,000 this year.
The French government reported that 190 people were also stopped on Saturday. In order to tackle the Channel activities, the government announced the Rwanda program in April.
Today, the High Court action will start hearings that will decide whether the UK sending some illegal immigrants to Rwanda is legal, or not.
Last week, a new panel of eight experts was appointed by the governments of the UK and Rwanda. Its role was to independently oversee the UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership.
The Independent Monitoring Committee is made up of experts with a variety of skills, including in the human rights, migration, asylum, international law, and business sectors, according to a statement provided by the UK’s Home Office.
They will be in charge of monitoring the partnership’s end-to-end activities from the UK to Rwanda as well as analysing and reporting on those operations.
Dr. Vincent Biruta, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, spoke with Priti Patel, his counterpart in Britain, last week on the partnership that appears like the two countries are looking to forge ahead with the plan, despite several challenges it has faced since it was announced at the end of April.
“Always a pleasure to speak to my counterpart in Rwanda @VBiruta. On a call we discussed our countries’ steadfast commitment to the Migration & Economic Development Partnership. Rwanda and UK stand together in promoting a fairer, more effective global asylum system & we won’t be deterred,” the UK Minister tweeted.
“Our world-first migration partnership will help to stop dangerous, illegal and unnecessary journeys being made to the UK, while giving people the opportunity to claim asylum in Rwanda and rebuild their lives,”
The partnership agreement to relocate UK migrants to Rwanda was signed in April. It is believed that by relocating migrants to Rwanda and investing in personal development and employment for migrants, the two nations are taking bold steps to address the imbalance in global opportunities which drives illegal migration while dismantling the incentive structures which empower criminal gangs and endanger innocent lives.
“I am proud to be working with the Rwandan government on this world-leading policy, and our new Monitoring Committee will play a key role in holding both governments to account so we can deliver on our commitments to the British public and save lives,” Patel said
Dr. Biruta reiterated Rwanda’s commitment to work with the UK in the implementation of the partnership which is expected to address the challenge of asylum seekers who illegally arrive in the UK.
