By Rwanda scheme critics have ‘no solution’ says Patel
Home Secretary Priti Patel has hit back at critics of the government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
She has said they have failed to offer solutions, in regards to the controversial scheme which has seen Patel take ‘personal responsibility for
From the Times article, the Rwandan foreign minister said they had a viable answer to the “deadly trade” of people smuggling.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said there were “serious ethical questions” regarding the plan.
Ms. Patel and Vincent Biruta, Rwanda’s foreign minister, said the global asylum system was “collapsing” under the strain of humanitarian crises and human trafficking.
The plan to transport some asylum seekers who enter the UK unlawfully to Rwanda will allow people fleeing persecution to find safety, they said.
The UK’s investment in Rwanda of £120m would help to address the lack of opportunities.
From the BBC “We are taking bold and innovative steps and, surprisingly, those institutions that criticise the plans fail to offer their solutions,” they wrote.
“Allowing this suffering to continue is no longer an option for any humanitarian nation.”
A UK government source told the BBC that it would be supporting Rwanda to resettle “a portion of the most vulnerable refugees”.
Energy minister Greg Hands told Times Radio sending migrants to Rwanda would be a “significant deterrent” to people attempting to cross the Channel.
Justin Welby addresses the “serious ethical questions” of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda accusing the government of “subcontracting our responsibilities” and saying it cannot “stand the judgment of God”.
He was joined by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who said the policy was “depressing and distressing”,
Opposition parties and some Conservative MPs have also criticised the plan.
Among their concerns was Rwanda’s own human rights record, but in the Times article, Ms. Patel and Mr. Biruta said Rwanda “ranks as one of the world’s safest countries”
According to reports, they have already accommodated 130,000 refugees from multiple countries.
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