Priti Patel insists Rwanda scheme not ‘one-sided’ amid one-way flights | World | News


The Home Secretary has defended the British Government’s partnership with Rwanda to process asylum claims. Priti Patel flew to Kigali the capital of Rwanda on Thursday to sign the agreement which will see send tens of thousands of asylum seekers granted a one-way ticket to be resettled in the African country. 

Ms Patel told the press conference in Rwanda: “Let me just say this is a partnership between our two countries first and foremost.

“This is not a one-sided deal.”

“So I just want to deconstruct any myths around that.

“We have the right processes and mechanisms in place,” added the Home Secretary.

 

Ms Patel described the partnership as a “global first and it will change the way we collectively tackle illegal migration”.

“This is a global issue”, the Home Secretary said adding many countries are struggling to address it and “there is no single or simple solution”.

She said: “This agreement illustrates that we can no longer accept the status quo. People are dying and the global migration crisis requires new ways to find new partnerships and to find new solutions.

“It will also deal a major blow to the evil people smugglers. We know that this will not be easy. We know that we will face challenges along the way.”

 

The Home Secretary told the Press Conference: “The UK asylum system is collapsing under a combination of real humanitarian crises and evil people smugglers profiteering by exploiting the system for their own gains.

“Criminals are exploiting the hopes and fears of migrants, pushing them to making dangerous journeys to the UK, with fictitious and false promises that they can settle in the UK if they make it.

“And this has devastating consequences for the countless men, women and children who have tragically lost their lives or loved ones on perilous journeys.

“It is also deeply unfair, because it advantages those with the means to pay smugglers over the vulnerable who cannot.”

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“Global systems and conventions have failed to address this global crisis. And the world has changed and a global leadership is required to find new innovative solutions to this growing problem.”

She said the partnership between the UK and Rwanda is “part of the United Kingdom’s new plan for immigration to control our borders, protect our communities, stop dangerous illegal migration, help the world’s most desperate people, and welcome international talents to the UK”.

The partnership between Rwanda and the UK is not “comparable” to the type of arrangement Australia had, she added.

Ms Patel said: “Australia is not comparable. This is not the type of arrangement that Australia had. Australia is a sovereign country, obviously had its own arrangement.”



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