UNHRC is lying to UK courts, sending refugees to Rwanda itself, says Kigali

A Boeing 767 on the runway at a military base in Salisbury in the UK, as it prepared to fly asylum-seekers to Rwanda. The flight was blocked by European judges. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

• The UNHCR, appearing in a UK court, said it had evidence that refugees were not safe in Rwanda.
• Rwanda has accused UNHCR of “lying” when both were engaged in rescuing refugees from Libya.
• The UK’s first flights out to Rwanda are due on 24 July, but only in the unlikely event that the Conservatives there win the 4 July elections.

The Rwandan government has accused the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) of applying double standards and “lying” to British courts about Kigali’s treatment of refugees, even while it is in the process of working with Kigali to help some 500 refugees from Libya.

On Monday, the UNHCR told a high court in London it had evidence that asylum seekers were endangered in Rwanda in the past 12 months.

Laura Dubinsky, the lawyer representing the UNHCR in court, said British authorities were made aware of “at least seven cases of refoulement” on 7 December last year in Kigali. That is the technical term for forcing refugees to return to a country where they face persecution or violence.

Despite that, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak introduced a reworked asylum plan to his parliament, which was due to send some people who arrive in the UK by small boats to Rwanda for processing.

READ | Rishi Sunak calls a UK national election for 4 July, despite poor prospects

Attorneys for the British government contended that deportations to Rwanda shouldn’t be delayed until the courts decide whether or not Rwanda is generally safe – as UK law now declares it to be.

Rwanda was not at all pleased with the UNHCR’s submissions in court. 

In a statement, Kigali said the “UNHCR is lying”.

“The organisation seems intent on presenting fabricated allegations to UK courts about Rwanda’s treatment of asylum seekers, while still partnering with us to bring African migrants from Libya to safety in Rwanda through the Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM).”

The African Union, Rwanda and UNHCR signed a memorandum of understanding to set up an ETM for the evacuation of refugees and asylum seekers out of Libya in 2019.

This was after Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s 2017 offer to set up a joint task force to protect refugees and migrants along migratory routes and in particular, inside Libya.

As recently as last month, under the ETM, it was agreed that a group of 500 people needing international protection would be sent to Rwanda.

Most of the group’s members are from the Horn of Africa, and it includes vulnerable children and young people.

On the UNHCR’s court submissions, Rwanda said the rights body could have been referring to only one case Kigali was aware of, that of a man denied asylum in the Seychelles.

When the man was denied entry there, Rwanda said the UNHCR’s South Africa office decided he should be granted asylum in Rwanda but the government was not consulted.

“This is just one in a series of wholly unserious allegations that have been levelled against us by the UNHCR,” Rwanda said.

Another claim made by the UNHCR’s lawyers was that Rwanda refused to take Burundian refugees.

Rwanda called this “absurd” and added that a group of people were found in violation of Rwanda immigration laws.

“This is made all the more ridiculous when you consider the fact that Rwanda currently provides refuge to tens of thousands of our Burundian neighbours who have sought safety in our country,” the Rwandan government said.

First planes out

For the past month, the British government has raided illegal immigrants, rounding them up into centres from which they would be deported.

The first planes out to Kigali have been set for 24 July.

READ | Last Rwanda genocide fugitives sought by int’l court confirmed dead, but 1 000 more still at large

However, that depends on the Conservatives winning in the 4 July elections in the UK, while even some of that party’s leaders concur with every poll and analysis that the opposition Labour Party will win an outright majority.

Labour has promised to stop the deportations.

There are at least 12 legal cases that have been brought forward to stop the deportations.

Last month, a judge in Northern Ireland ruled that the policy undermines human rights protections guaranteed in the region under post-Brexit arrangements. 

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