Suella Braverman signs ‘migration and security agreement’ with Austrian counterpart in move to work more closely together
Austria is seeking to adopt a Rwanda-style deal to deport asylum seekers to a third country, having agreed a deal to work with the UK on migration.
Suella Braverman signed a “migration and security agreement” with her Austrian counterpart, Gerhard Karner, in which the two countries agreed to work more closely together.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: A complicated legal battle over whether the UK government plan to send thousands of migrants to Rwanda could cause a fundamental shift in how asylum seekers are treated
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Good morning. Five supreme court judges are this week deciding whether the UK government plan to deport tens of thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda should go ahead.
The decision of the UK’s highest court will be life-changing for more than 24,000 asylum seekers issued with letters warning them that they are being considered for forcible removal. It will also either make home secretary Suella Braverman’s “dream” come true or poleaxe a key part of Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats”.
Israel | The leaders of the UK, US, France, Germany and Italy have released a joint statement expressing “steadfast and united support” for the state of Israel and “unequivocal condemnation” of Hamas. Earlier, Israel declared a “complete siege” of Gaza, cutting off water, food and power supplies.
Environment | The damage caused by the climate crisis through extreme weather has cost $16m (£13m) an hour for the past 20 years, according to a new estimate.
Transport | A list of transport projects to be funded using HS2 money, which included schemes that had already been built or were swiftly deleted, was intended only to be “illustrative”, the prime minister has said.
Labour | A new Labour government would give all towns and cities in England new powers and funding to boost local economies, Keir Starmer will announce, in the biggest expansion of devolution since Labour was last in power.
Scotland | A hoard of coins linked to a Highland chief – which may have been stashed away as he tried in vain to escape the Glen Coe massacre – has been discovered underneath a fireplace.
Continue reading...Human Rights Watch report detailing alleged abuses at home and abroad raises questions over UK government’s asylum plan
Rwandan authorities are coordinating a systematic campaign of repression at home and abroad against political activists, suspected dissidents and their family members, according to a Human Rights Watch report, raising questions about plans by the UK government to send asylum seekers there.
The US-based rights group details an alleged campaign of extraterritorial killings, kidnappings and intimidation, as well as arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances on Rwandan soil.
Continue reading...Shadow health secretary questioned by Guardian editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner
Q: You oppose the Rwanda policy because you don’t think it will work. If the supreme court rules it is legal, and deportations start and it is seen to be working, would you still reverse it.
Yes, says Starmer. He says it is the wrong policy. It is very expensive, and it only affect only a small number of people. And the policy does not deal with the problem at source.
Continue reading...Katalin Novák, an anti-abortionist and promoter of pro-natalist policies, spoke at the opening of the Women Deliver conference in Rwanda
Some leading delegates at a women’s rights conference in Rwanda have expressed shock at the appearance there of the Hungarian president, an anti-abortionist criticised for an anti-equality stance.
Katalin Novák, an important player in the international “anti-gender movement”, was invited by the Rwandan government to speak at the Women Deliver conference in Kigali this week, where reproductive rights is one of the areas under discussion.
Continue reading...Rose Hudson-Wilkin, bishop of Dover, calls for ‘compassionate’ treatment of those seeking asylum in UK
A senior Church of England bishop has accused the British government of planning to engage in “trafficking” of people to Rwanda, as part of its efforts to tackle people smugglers.
The bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin, who was the first black woman to serve as chaplain to the speaker in the House of Commons, told Sky news on Thursday: “We have to deal with them compassionately, we have to deal with them justly,” when asked about the backlog of asylum seekers’ claims
Continue reading...Home Office sent 24,083 letters of intent warning refugees they were being considered for forcible removal
More than 24,000 asylum seekers from about one-third of the world’s countries could face removal to Rwanda by the UK Home Office in the future, even though the scheme was found to be unlawful in the court of appeal on Thursday.
Home Office data obtained under a freedom of information request shows that, between January 2021 and March 2023, 24,083 asylum seekers were issued with letters warning them that they were being considered for forcible removal to Rwanda.
Continue reading...Sunak insists Rwanda is safe country to be sent to after court rules in favour of charities and 10 asylum seekers
The bitter legal battle over the government’s flagship immigration policy is set to reach new heights after Downing Street insisted it would fight to overturn a ruling that sending refugees to Rwanda was unlawful.
Charities and others were jubilant on Thursday after judges at the court of appeal ruled in favour of campaign groups and 10 affected asylum seekers, while the opposition claimed the policy at heart of Rishi Sunak’s “Stop the Boats” pledge was now unravelling.
Continue reading...Philippe Hategekimana also convicted of crimes against humanity relating to mass killings in 1994
A Paris court has found a former Rwandan military policeman guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity during the 1994 slaughter in his home country and sentenced him to life in prison.
The court found Philippe Hategekimana, 66, guilty of nearly all the charges against him.
Continue reading...‘Impact assessment’ of the illegal migration bill reignites bitter rows over the controversial scheme
The cost of sending a single person seeking asylum to Rwanda could be nearly £170,000, according to government analysis, which has immediately reignited bitter rows over the controversial scheme.
A long-awaited “impact assessment” of the illegal migration bill has conceded that ministers do not know the overall costs of implementing plans to detain and deport anyone who arrives in the UK by irregular means.
Continue reading...Orphanage run by Damas Gisimba and his brother became refuge from militias during genocide that killed 800,000 Rwandans
Damas Gisimba, who sheltered and saved the lives of hundreds of people during the Rwandan genocide, has died. He was 61.
In 1994, Gisimba and his brother were running an orphanage founded by their parents in Kigali, the Rwandan capital.
Continue reading...Fulgence Kayishema, 62, charged with playing leading role in church killing of more than 2,000 people
One of the world’s most wanted genocide suspects, a Rwandan former police chief, Fulgence Kayishema, has been arrested in South Africa and charged with playing a leading role in the murder of more than 2,000 people in a church in April 1994.
Kayishema has spent more than two decades as a fugitive and was living under a false name at the time of his arrest on Wednesday afternoon in Paarl, 35 miles (60km) north-east of Cape Town. He was detained by the South African police and members of a tracking team from the Rwandan war crimes tribunal based in Arusha, Tanzania.
Continue reading...Many reported dead in Rwanda and Uganda, as heavy rain also devastates western regions of continent
May is the end of the rainy season for many parts of east Africa. However, this does not mean the devastation has ended.
Last week heavy rainfall, which started in the late afternoon on 2 May, led to flash flooding in parts of Rwanda and Uganda. These heavy downpours continued through to 4 May, with further wet weather following later in the week.
Continue reading...Philippe Hategekimana, 66, who started new life in France under false identity, is charged with crimes against humanity
A former Rwandan military police officer who fled to France after the 1994 genocide and started a new life under a false identity is going on trial in Paris charged with crimes against humanity.
Philippe Hategekimana, 66, fled to France five years after the genocide, obtaining refugee status under a fake name. He became a university security guard in the city of Rennes and gained French citizenship in 2005.
Continue reading...State-run broadcaster says flood waters still rising in northern and western provinces and warns death toll may rise
At least 115 people have died as floods and mudslides swept through northern and western Rwanda after torrential rains, according to the state-run broadcaster, which warned that the toll could rise.
“The rain that fell last night caused disaster in the northern and western provinces,” the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA) said on its website on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Hundreds of healthcare professionals fear plan will cause ‘catastrophic mental and physical harm’ to refugees
More than 830 UK health professionals and representatives from leading medical bodies have signed a letter to the prime minister expressing “grave concerns” that the government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda will cause “catastrophic mental and physical harm” to people seeking safety, in advance of a court of appeal hearing on the policy on Monday.
Signatories to the letter include the BMA and the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists.
Continue reading...Home secretary refuses to give a deadline for when her controversial policy for asylum seekers will begin
Suella Braverman has been unable to confirm that the first promised deportation flights to Rwanda will take off this summer, as the controversial policy continues to face scrutiny in the courts.
The home secretary, whose officials briefed that plans were on track during her trip to the African country last month, played down the prospect of the flights going ahead shortly.
Continue reading...New Human Rights Watch head Tirana Hassan says UK’s plan to deport asylum seekers is ‘cheap politics’
The UK’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda would “completely erode” Britain’s standing on the world stage, the new head of Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.
Tirana Hassan, who takes over as HRW’s executive director on Monday, also said other conservative governments in Europe were considering following Britain’s lead and looking at African states as an offshore dumping ground for asylum seekers, potentially dealing further blows to established refugee protections.
Continue reading...Ex-hotelier whose actions saved lives during 1994 genocide has sentence for terrorism charges commuted
Paul Rusesabagina, a businessman whose role in saving more than 1,000 lives during the 1994 Rwandan genocide inspired the film Hotel Rwanda, has been released from prison after his 25-year sentence on terrorism charges was commuted.
Rusesabagina was accompanied by a US embassy official as he was moved from prison to the residence of Qatar’s ambassador in Kigali late on Friday, according to two senior Biden administration officials who briefed reporters in Washington.
Continue reading...Ally’s criticism will be hard to dismiss as UK tries to push through £120m migrant scheme
Britain’s closest ally, the US, has criticised Rwanda’s dire human rights record, describing conditions in the country’s detention centres as harsh to life-threatening.
The British home secretary, Suella Braverman, took a group of journalists on a trip last week to reveal details of her £120m scheme to send all migrants arriving in the UK through irregular means to Rwanda whether they claim asylum or not. The legality of the scheme is due to be tested shortly in the UK court of appeal.
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