The Army Chief of Staff of the Rwanda Defence Force, Major General Vincent Nyakarundi has paid a courtesy call on the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Major General William Agyapong and congratulated him on his appointment to the highest office in the Ghana Armed Forces.
As part of his itinerary, Major General Nyakarundi, extended an invitation to Major General Agyapong to attend the upcoming International Defence Seminar in Rwanda.
In his remarks, General Agyapong expressed his appreciation for the visit, highlighting the existing mutual relationship and the growing ties between Ghana and the Rwandan Armed Forces, which focused on Defence cooperation and regional security.
Also, Chief of Bureau of the Southern Zone Morocco Armed Forces, Brigadier General Abdul Karim Najjer, has congratulated the Chief of the Defence Staff, Major General William Agyapong, on his appointment to the highest office in the Ghana Armed Forces.
The visit aimed to strengthen the relationship between both Armed Forces, with emphasis on peacekeeping missions. Brigadier General Najjer commended Ghana for its extensive peace support experience and acknowledged the country’s expertise and contributions to international peacekeeping efforts over the years.
Major General Agyapong highlighted Ghana’s peacekeeping milestones, including producing the first African female UN Force Commander. He stressed the need for regional cooperation to combat security threats, noting Ghana’s commitment to peace support operations and its role in regional security matters.
The World Bank’s latest Business Ready (B-Ready) 2024 report has highlighted the difficulties entrepreneurs face in setting up businesses in Ghana, revealing that it takes 57 days to register a company in the country, compared to just three days in Rwanda.
Speaking at the report’s launch, Robert Taliercio O’Brien, the World Bank’s Division Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, expressed concern over the lengthy business registration process in Ghana.
“It takes 57 days to register a new domestic company in Ghana. In Rwanda, it only takes 3 days,” he stated, urging authorities to streamline processes to make business entry more efficient.
The report, which assesses regulatory frameworks and the efficiency of public services for businesses, found that Ghana performed poorly in market competition, business entry, and dispute resolution. It pointed out several gaps, including delays in digitizing intellectual property services, the absence of comprehensive business statistics, and a lack of digital infrastructure within the judicial system.
It also noted that Ghana does not have a fully electronic company registration system, making the process cumbersome. Additionally, the country lacks an electronic case management system that allows businesses to file initial complaints online.
Beyond business registration, internet reliability was another area of concern. According to O’Brien, Ghanaian firms face frequent internet disruptions, with 48% of businesses reporting connectivity issues in a typical month, compared to just 2% in more efficient economies.
Despite these challenges, the report highlighted some positive aspects of Ghana’s business environment. The country scored highly in labor practices, utility services, and business insolvency.
Ghana was recognized for its effective labor dispute resolution mechanisms, transparent utility service information, and the presence of electronic case management systems for liquidation and reorganization proceedings.
While the findings underscore Ghana’s regulatory inefficiencies, the report suggests that improving digitalization, reducing bureaucratic delays, and enhancing internet reliability could significantly improve the ease of doing business in the country.
Rwanda has officially cut diplomatic ties with Belgium, accusing the European country of repeatedly undermining it amid the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).
Belgium has been at the forefront of efforts to push for European sanctions against Rwanda, citing its alleged support for M23, the rebel group heavily involved in DR Congo’s crisis.
As a result, Rwandan authorities have ordered Belgian diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours.
Belgium, which once ruled Rwanda as a colonial power, has called the decision an overreaction and promised to issue a response.
While both the UN and the US have accused Rwanda of backing M23, Kigali has strongly denied any involvement. In its statement on Monday, Kigali accused Brussels of attempting to “sustain its neo-colonial delusions”.
“Belgium has clearly taken sides in a regional conflict and continues to systematically mobilise against Rwanda in different forums, using lies and manipulation to secure an unjustified hostile opinion of Rwanda, in an attempt to destabilise both Rwanda and the region,” the statement said.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot responded to Rwanda’s measures on social media, saying: “This is disproportionate and shows that when we disagree with Rwanda they prefer not to engage in dialogue.”
Prevot said Rwandan diplomats in Belgium will be declared “persona non grata”. When a diplomatic declaration is issued, it can strip individuals of their official status, often leading to their expulsion or a refusal to recognize their roles.
Since the beginning of this year, fighting between the M23 rebels and the DR Congo’s military in the eastern region has caused around 7,000 deaths, according to Congolese authorities. The conflict has also displaced more than 850,000 people, as reported by UNICEF, with violence escalating significantly since January.
In the past two months, the M23 rebels have seized control of two major cities, Goma and Bukavu. In response to the situation, Britain has reduced its financial aid to Rwanda as a way to pressure the country to stop supporting the M23 rebels.
Last month, the UN Security Council called for an end to M23’s attacks and demanded that Rwanda withdraw its troops from DR Congo. Meanwhile, Rwandan President Paul Kagame promised that his nation would stand firm against Belgium before Kigali officially cut ties with Brussels. “We would ask [Belgium]: ‘Who are you by the way? Who put you in charge of us?’ Rwandans believe in God, but did God really put these people in charge of Rwanda?”Kagame asked in an address on Sunday.
Former captain of DR Congo, Youssouf Mulumbu, has called onParis Saint-Germain (PSG)to reassess its sponsorship deal with Visit Rwanda in light of the severe conflict and humanitarian crisis in his country.
His plea comes amidst rising violence in eastern DR Congo, where the M23 rebels—reportedly supported by Rwanda—have taken control of key regions, including the vital city of Goma.
According to the United Nations, approximately 700,000 people have been displaced by the conflict this year alone.
In a conversation with BBC World Service, Mulumbu highlighted the profound impact of the crisis, describing it as a “financial war” driven by competition over DR Congo’s substantial mineral resources, especially tantalum, an essential element in smartphone manufacturing.
“The situation is very, very hard and very painful, and all this conflict is based on finance,” Mulumbu said.
“It’s not a religious or territory war. It’s a financial war and people need to know that.”
The former West Brom midfielder Mulumbu added, “I want to thank the minister, because she did very big work.
“And all I know is that on a sponsorship, there is a financial part.
“We are going to do our best to inform [about] this deal and what’s behind it. I think it will be a big step if we can cancel this Visit Rwanda [partnership].”
While Arsenal and PSG have yet to respond, Bayern Munich stated it is monitoring the situation and remains in contact with the German foreign ministry.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has urged top European football clubs Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to sever their sponsorship ties with Visit Rwanda, condemning the deals amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in the region.
The call comes as M23 rebels seized control of Goma, the largest city in eastern DRC, and the United Nations refugee agency reports that over 400,000 people have been displaced this year.
UN experts have accused the Rwandan army of effectively controlling M23 operations.
DRC’s Foreign Minister, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, sent letters to the clubs’ executives, questioning the ethics of continuing the sponsorships.
She raised concerns that Visit Rwanda’s funding could be linked to the illegal extraction of minerals from DRC’s occupied territories, with the minerals smuggled across the border to Rwanda for export.
In her letter to Arsenal, Kayikwamba Wagner stated that Rwanda’s responsibility in the ongoing conflict has become undeniable, following a UN report revealing the deployment of 4,000 Rwandan troops in DRC.
“It is time Arsenal ended its blood-stained sponsorship deals with this oppressor nation. If not for your own consciences, then the clubs should do it for the victims of Rwandan aggression,” she wrote.
Arsenal, PSG, Bayern Munich and Visit Rwanda have been contacted for comment.
Why are the Visit Rwanda deals controversial?
The Visit Rwandacampaign has successfully raised the East African country’s profile but Rwanda’s government has been accused of investing in sport to enhance its global image – a strategy labelled by critics as ‘sportswashing’.
A sleeve partnership with Arsenal began in 2018, with the latest sponsorship reported to be worth more than £10m ($12.39 million) per year.
A sponsorship with PSG was agreed the following year, and Bayern Munich signed a five-year football development and tourism promotion partnership with Rwanda in 2023.
Meanwhile, Rwanda President Paul Kagame has announced a bid to stage a Formula 1 race and Kigali is set to be the venue for cycling’s World Road Championships in September.
On Friday the UCI, cycling’s world governing body, said there were no plans to relocate the event away from Rwanda.
The Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch, a campaign group which investigates and reports on cases of abuse around the globe, says these deals and events help hide Rwanda’s “abysmal track record” on human rights.
“Rwanda has major flaws with due process which violate its own internal laws or international standards,” HRW’s Lewis Mudge told BBC Sport Africa last month.
“Increasingly we’re seeing the space for freedom of expression, for some degree of political autonomy, is actually shrinking.”
The Rwandan government has dismissed accusations of sportswashing, with its chief tourism officer Irene Murerwa calling them “a distraction” from the “amazing and outstanding achievements the country has made”.
What is the latest in eastern DR Congo?
Four armed militants wearing camouflage and holding guns sit on the back of a truck as another soldier with a grenade launcher on his shoulder walks past in the foreground.
The UN says at least 700 people have been killed in intense fighting in Goma since Sunday.
UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said 2,800 people have been injured, as M23 rebels – backed by Rwanda – captured the capital of North Kivu province.
The rebels are now reported to be moving south towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu.
The conflict in eastern DR Congo dates back to the 1990s but has rapidly escalated in recent weeks.
M23 , which is made up of ethnic Tutsis, say they are fighting for minority rights, while DR Congo’s government says the Rwanda-backed rebels are seeking control of the eastern region’s vast mineral wealth.
Authorities in Kigali have denied direct military involvement in the conflict, insisting its troops are only stationed along the border to protect its territory and civilians.
In the aftermath of Rwanda’s announcement of a Marburg virus disease outbreak on September 27th, the Minister of Health has reassured the public that the situation is being effectively managed.
In a briefing with diplomats and development partners, Minister Nsanzimana outlined the vaccination efforts aimed at combating the virus.
Rwanda recently acquired 700 doses of an experimental vaccine, which has been administered to healthcare workers and individuals who have had contact with confirmed cases.
“We had been communicated that the vaccines are available. I think we took it as a great opportunity to have it and to boost our immune system,” said Augustin Sendegeya, Chief Medical Officer at King Faisal Hospital.
Although the vaccine is still under trial, Sendegeya said he believes it is safe and could be invaluable for those who are at risk of becoming infected.
Some doctors have also insisted that they have seen no major side effects from the vaccine. “I don’t even expect much because I saw people who took the vaccine yesterday and they did not have many symptoms,” said Blaise Dushimiyimana, a Gynecologist at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali.
To date, over 200 individuals in the country have received the vaccine.
Marburg virus disease is a severe and often fatal illness in humans. Since the outbreak was declared, Rwanda has reported 13 fatalities linked to the virus.
Rwanda has limited the size of funerals forMarburg virusvictims to help control the spread of the highly infectious disease.
The outbreak, Rwanda’s first, has claimed eight lives, as confirmed by the country’s health ministry on Friday. Marburg, part of the same virus family as Ebola, can be deadly, with a mortality rate of up to 88%.
It is transmitted to humans from fruit bats and then spread through contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals.
To prevent further transmission, the health ministry has issued new rules, stating that no more than 50 people can attend the funeral of someone who has died from the virus.
What is the Marburg virus, and how dangerous is it?
“Normal business and other activities” can continue in the East African country, said the advisory, published on Sunday evening.
However, it also urged the public to avoid close contact with “symptomatic individuals.” The ministry listed symptoms such as fever, headaches, muscle aches, vomiting, and diarrhoea.
The Marburg virus can lead to death due to severe blood loss. According to the health ministry’s new guidelines, hospital patients will not be allowed visitors for the next 14 days, with only one caregiver permitted per patient at any given time.
In many developing nations, families often assist with essential tasks like washing and feeding, which nurses would typically handle elsewhere.
On Saturday, when the death toll reached six,Rwanda’s health minister revealed that the majority of those who died were healthcare workers in an ICU.
Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, from Boston University’s Centre on Emerging Infectious Diseases, told the BBC’s Newsday program that controlling the virus may be difficult as most cases have emerged in Kigali, a densely populated city, unlike previous outbreaks in remote rural areas where containment was easier.
However, she added that there is hope as Rwanda has “a lot better infrastructure and history of public health coordination than many other countries.”.
Rwanda announced it is ramping up efforts in contact tracing, surveillance,, and testing to control the spread of the Marburg virus. On Sunday, the health minister revealed that around 300 individuals who had been in contact with confirmed cases are being closely monitored.
The government has called on citizens to maintain proper hygiene, including regular hand washing. This marks the first confirmed case of Marburg in Rwanda. Neighbouring Tanzania faced an outbreak in 2023, and Uganda saw three fatalities from the virus in 2017.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has been sworn in for a fourth term after sweeping to victory in an election last month with more than 99 percent of the vote.
Several dozen heads of state and other dignitaries from African nations attended the inauguration ceremony on Sunday at a packed 45,000-seat stadium in Kigali, where crowds had started gathering in the early morning.
Kagame took the oath of office before Chief Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo, pledging to “preserve peace and national sovereignty, consolidate national unity”.
The outcome of the July 15 poll was never in doubt for Kagame, who has ruled the small African nation since its 1994 genocide, first as de facto leader and then president.
He won 99.18 percent of the ballots cast to secure another five years in power, according to the National Electoral Commission.
Rights activists said the 66-year-old’s overwhelming victory was a stark reminder of the lack of democracy in Rwanda.
Only two candidates were authorised to run against him out of eight applicants with several prominent Kagame critics barred.
Democratic Green Party leader Frank Habineza scraped into second place with 0.5 percent of the votes against 0.32 percent for independent Philippe Mpayimana.
DRC ceasefire talks
Kagame is credited with rebuilding a ruined nation after the genocide when members of the Hutu majority unleashed 100 days of attacks targeting the Tutsi minority, killing about 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis but also Hutu moderates.
But rights activists and opponents have said Kagame rules in a climate of fear, crushing any dissent with intimidation, arbitrary detentions, killings, and disappearances.
Angolan President Joao Lourenco, who was among those attending Sunday’s ceremony, was due to have private talks with Kagame on a DRC ceasefire, the Angolan presidency said.
Luanda brokered the agreement last month after a meeting between the foreign ministers of the DRC and Rwanda, which is accused of backing the M23 rebel group fighting Kinshasa’s armed forces.
But on August 4, the day the deal was supposed to take effect, M23 rebels – who have seized territory in the east since launching a new offensive at the end of 2021 – captured a town on the border with Uganda.
With 65 percent of the population aged under 30, Kagame is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known.
“I proudly cast my vote for President Kagame and made it a priority to be here today to witness this historic inauguration,” said Tania Iriza, a 27-year-old trader, one of the tens of thousands of Rwandans who turned out for the ceremony.
“His leadership has been transformative for our nation. Under his leadership, Rwanda has risen from our tragic past and forged a path towards prosperity, unity, and innovation.”
Kagame has won every presidential election he has contested, each time with more than 93 percent of the vote.
In 2015, he oversaw constitutional amendments that shortened presidential terms to five years from seven but reset the clock for the Rwandan leader, allowing him to potentially rule until 2034.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame is poised to extend his 24-year rule by another five years with a landslide victory, as most of the votes from Monday’s election have been counted.
Partial results announced by the electoral commission show that he has 99.15% of the vote so far, with about 79% of ballots counted.
The 66-year-old faced no significant opposition, with prominent figures barred from running. His two challengers collectively garnered less than 1% of the vote.
Mr. Kagame expressed gratitude to Rwandans for their trust during an address at his Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) party headquarters.
“These are not just figures, even if it were 100%, these are not just numbers. [They] show trust, and that is what is most important,” Mr Kagame said.
His opponents – environmentalist Frank Habineza and journalist and author Philippe Mpayimana – have 0.53% and 0.32%, respectively.
The full provisional results are expected by July 20, with the final results to be released by July 27.
These results are unsurprising, reflecting the 2017 election in which the same candidates competed, and Mr. Kagame won with 98.8% of the vote.
At least three candidates were disqualified from running, including Diane Rwigara, a vocal critic of Mr. Kagame.
The electoral commission reports that 98% of the over 9.5 million eligible voters participated in the elections.
Voters were choosing a president and 53 legislators.
Elections for 27 special seats designated for women, young people, and people with disabilities are scheduled for Tuesday.
Mr. Kagame has been Rwanda’s de facto leader since the end of the 1994 genocide and has served as president since 2000.
While rights groups accuse him of restricting freedoms, his supporters credit him with economic growth and reducing ethnic divisions.
Rwandans headed to the polls on Monday to elect their next president, with incumbent Paul Kagame widelyanticipated to secure a fourth term, continuing his nearly 25-year tenure in the East African nation.
His challengers, Frank Habineza from the Democratic Green Party and independent Philippe Mpayimana, expressed hopes of making some progress, but analysts and rights groups predicted a decisive victory for Kagame.
Kagame, who has secured over 93% of the vote in the past three elections, has been lauded by Western and regional leaders for his role in ending the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and for the country’s economic development.
However, campaign groups like Human Rights Watch have accused his administration of repressing journalists, opposition members, and civil society groups ahead of the vote.
Kagame has dismissed these accusations, positioning himself as the candidate for stability.
His reelection could indicate a degree of political stability for his part of a divided region, but it will also bring ongoing global scrutiny due to allegations of human rights abuses and supporting rebels in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo, charges he has denied.
At the Rwandexco polling centre in Kigali, Barimukije Pheneas expressed his intent to vote for the 66-year-old incumbent.
“We voted smoothly without any crowding, and we are happy,” Pheneas said. “I voted for Paul Kagame because he has achieved a lot for us; he has united us.”
Motorcycle taxi driver Karangwa Vedaste said the voting process was calm and peaceful, but declined to say who he had chosen.
“I voted for a leader I trust. The one I voted for is a secret in my heart. We will share it when he wins,” Vedaste said.
The electoral commission disqualified eight candidates, including some of Kagame’s most outspoken critics, citing reasons such as incomplete or missing registration documents.
Frank Habineza, the Democratic Green Party candidate whose deputy was found dead and nearly beheaded before the 2010 election, acknowledged signs of progress despite the disqualifications.
“We toured the entire country, and wherever we went, people welcomed us warmly. They gave us gifts and assured us they would vote for us,” Habineza said after voting.
“We have to maintain this momentum and not regress,” he added. “We are confident, each of us is confident, it’s half and half,” independent presidential candidate Mpayimana told journalists after casting his vote.
The U.S. State Department says on its website thatRwanda has made“progress in developing national and local government institutions, economic development, maintaining security and promoting reconciliation.”
It also says it backs Rwanda’s efforts to “increase democratic participation and enhance respect for civil and political rights”. Rwandans are also voting on Monday for members of the lower house of parliament and provisional results are expected by July 20. Polling stations are open until 1500 local time (1300 GMT).
One person was killed and dozens were injured in a crash at an election rally for Rwandan President Paul Kagame,according to officials.
The incident occurred on Sunday in Rubavu district, where 37 people sustained injuries, with four being hospitalized for serious conditions, as stated by the Ministry of Local Government.
This happened as campaigning for the July general election kicked off on Saturday, with President Kagame hosting two rallies in northern Rwanda over the weekend.
It apologised to the deceased’s family, adding that a medical team on site “did everything possible”.
President Paul Kagame is running for a fourth term. He has been Rwanda’s de facto leader since 1994, when his then-rebel group, the Rwanda Patriotic Front, took power following the genocide against his Tutsi ethnic group.
Kagame won the previous presidential election in 2017 with almost 99% of the vote.
At 66 years old, Kagame has faced criticism from human rights organizations for suppressing the opposition. However, he staunchly defends Rwanda’s human rights record, asserting that the country upholds political freedoms.
After Sunday’s stampede, the ministry of local government reminded “those participating in campaign activities… to follow the instructions given by those in charge to ensure the safety and tranquility of those participating in campaign activities”.
Paul Kagame and his RPF Inkotanyi party have not issued a comment regarding the fatal incident at the rally. However, the party did share a video on Facebook on Monday morning showing Kagame taking the stage at the event.
In the footage, supporters dressed in party colors can be seen dancing, cheering, and waving flags. The party reported that approximately 250,000 people attended the rally.
In the upcoming presidential race, Kagame will be competing against two other candidates: Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana.
Diane Rwigara, a vocal critic of Kagame, has been barred from participating in the election.
The electoral commission stated that Rwigara failed to provide the necessary documentation proving she had no criminal record and did not demonstrate sufficient nationwide support to qualify.
Rwigara, who was also disqualified from the 2017 election, has dismissed these claims, asserting that she was unfairly denied the right to campaign.
The Parliament had been stuck and couldn’t make any new laws for two months. Then, just after midnight, the House of Lords gave up on their changes to the bill and agreed to let the elected House of Commons make the final decision. This means the bill can now become a law.
Today, Sunak had a special meeting in the morning to ask the Lords to stop blocking his important plan to stop people coming to England in small boats. He said that Parliament will keep working until they agree to it.
The plan has been delayed because of a disagreement in the government, and because of court decisions and protests from human rights activists. They think the plan is against the law and cruel. Supporters of migrants have promised to keep fighting against it.
The UK government wants to send back some people who come into the country illegally to Rwanda. This is to warn others from trying to come to the UK in dangerous boats and then ask for protection once they arrive.
Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, said that even though Parliament has approved the law, there could still be more court challenges that might cause delays in the deportation flights.
“I’m not sure if it’s all taken care of yet,” he said. “We will see some efforts to legally stop people from being sent out of the country. ”
Sunak has put his political future on the line by saying he will stop deportation flights. He hopes this promise will convince people to vote for his Conservative Party in the upcoming election, as polls currently show them falling behind the Labour Party. The local elections next week will show how well the political parties may do in the national election.
The discussion in Britain is happening as many countries in Western Europe and North America try to find ways to reduce the growing number of people moving due to war, climate change, and political oppression.
In Britain, people are concerned about small boats carrying immigrants because they think the government is not doing a good job of controlling immigration.
More people are coming to Britain on small boats now than before. In 2022, 45,774 people arrived this way, which is a lot more than the 299 people who came like this four years ago. These people are paying criminal gangs a lot of money to bring them across the channel because they are looking for a safe place to live.
In the past year, the number of small boat arrivals decreased to 29,437 because the government took action against people who bring others into the country illegally and made a deal to send Albanians back to their own country.
“I believe the government really wants to pass this law because they think it will help them keep their promise to stop the boats,” Bale said.
On Monday, Sunak said that flights to deport people would start in 10-12 weeks. But he didn’t give details about how many people would be deported or when the flights would happen. He said that giving this information could help people who don’t like the policy to keep trying to stop it.
Before the bill is approved, the government has arranged for planes to deport people, made more space to hold people in detention, hired more people to work on immigration cases, and made space in court to handle appeals, said Sunak.
He also said the government was willing to not listen to the European Court of Human Rights if it tried to stop the deportations.
“We are prepared, the plans are in place, and these flights will happen no matter what,” said Sunak. “Other countries can’t prevent us from taking our flights. ”
The Safety of Rwanda Bill is a new law made to keep migrants safe. It was created because the UK Supreme Court stopped flights to Rwanda for migrants because the government couldn’t make sure they would be safe there. After making a new agreement with Rwanda to better protect migrants, the government suggested a new law saying Rwanda is a safe place.
The bill is stuck in the complex rules of the British law-making system. The House of Lords checks and changes laws passed by the House of Commons, but it can’t stop laws from being passed.
The Rwanda bill went back and forth between the two houses of Parliament. The Lords suggested changes, but the Commons said no and sent it back to the Lords.
The people who don’t like the government’s plan didn’t want to say what they will do next. James Wilson, who leads Detention Action, said we should focus on what’s important and not get stuck in political arguments. Detention Action works to stop human rights abuses in immigration, and Wilson wants people to pay attention to that.
“He said that the most important things are not the details of Parliament and what is happening there. ” Ultimately, this is about individuals. This is about how people live.
Rwanda has welcomed 91 refugees and asylum seekers from Libya through a program supported by the UN’s refugee agency, the African Union, and the European Union.
Among the arrivals are 38 Sudanese individuals, 33 Eritreans, 11 Somalis, seven Ethiopians, and two people from South Sudan.
These refugees and asylum seekers were evacuated as part of the Emergency Transit Mechanism program, which has relocated 2,150 refugees to Rwanda from Libya since 2019.
Of these individuals, 1,600 have resettled in the United States and various European countries.
On Thursday, Rwanda’s emergency management ministry reaffirmed the country’s commitment to providing refuge to those in need.
The arrival of these refugees and asylum seekers coincides with the UK’s efforts to pass new legislation allowing for the transfer of some asylum seekers to Rwanda while their claims are processed.
However, the UK Supreme Court previously ruled this plan unlawful.
Rishi Sunak said he doesn’t like to take risks, but he also said it wasn’t a mistake to promise deportation flights before the next election after shaking hands with Piers Morgan from TalkTV.
On BBC Radio 5 Live, Mr. Sunak said he was trying to show that he is fully committed to the policy.
Labour said it proves that he doesn’t understand the needs of working people.
MrSunak said he understands the financial struggles of regular families and doesn’t agree with people who say he doesn’t.
The money raised from the bet will go to charity and it is more than the £900 payments given to households on means-tested benefits.
The prime minister wanted to reduce inflation by half by the end of last year because people were struggling with high living costs. He said that inflation went down from 11% to 4%, which makes it easier for families to afford things.
When asked if he knew about the struggles of poor families, Mr. Sunak said he felt upset to hear that some parents don’t have enough money to buy proper baby formula for their babies.
He said that reducing taxes helped families who work, and also gave a lot of money to help the people in society who need it the most.
“He said that many people are getting the help they need. ”
The Prime Minister promised to keep prices from going up and to send some people seeking asylum to Rwanda. It is meant to stop people from crossing the Channel, and is an important part of Mr Sunak’s promise to “stop the boats”.
However, the plan has been delayed because of legal problems, and no flights to deport people have taken off yet.
Mr Sunak said he is really committed to this policy and really wants to make it happen in parliament and get it started.
The government wants to make Rwanda a safe country with a new law. But the House of Lords needs to agree to it first, and some people there don’t like the idea.
The government still wants to have flights taking off by the spring.
During an interview on TalkTV, Mr. Morgan dared the PM by saying, “I bet you £1,000 for a refugee charity that you won’t get anyone on those planes before the election. ”
MrSunak said, “I want to help people get on planes” as he shook hands with the presenter.
MrSunak thinks there will be an election in the second part of this year. And it has to happen by the end of January 2025.
Opposition parties have criticized Mr. Sunak for making the decision.
Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said that when people get an unexpected bill of £1,000, they worry about how to pay their mortgage and buy food for their children.
The prime minister doesn’t realize how important that much money is. Sunak is really disconnected from reality.
The SNP said they told on Mr Sunak for maybe breaking the rules for ministers with the “disgusting” bet.
The party’s Cabinet Office spokeswoman, Kirsty Blackman, has asked for an investigation into whether Mr Sunak broke the rules for government ministers. She wrote to the PM’s independent adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.
In her letter, she talked about the rules that say ministers should make sure there is no problem between their job and their personal interests. They also should not take any gift that could make people think they are not making fair decisions or owe something to someone.
James Cleverly told members of parliament that the deal with the east African country is just one part of the government’s plan to address illegal migration.
Sending back goods to other countries could also make a big difference in the amount sent, he said.
But, he wouldn’t guess how many people would be sent away.
He said the agreement with Rwanda has no limit on the exact number, it depends on a lot of other things.
People are wondering how much the scheme costs because the UK has paid £240 million to Rwanda, but no one has been sent there yet because of legal problems.
Under the five-year plan, the UK will send some asylum seekers to Rwanda. They can then choose to apply for refugee status in Rwanda or seek asylum in another safe country.
MPs passed a law to bring back the scheme after the Supreme Court said it was against the law. But it’s likely to face a lot of disagreement in the House of Lords.
At a meeting of a government committee, a high-ranking official said that 33,085 people who are seeking asylum have entered the system since new laws about removing illegal arrivals started last July.
‘Create a signal’
When asked how many people could be sent to Rwanda, Mr. Cleverly told the MPs that nearly that many could be sent, but it depends on the situation.
He said it was possible that many people in that group would go back to their own country. And making deals with other countries could also have a big effect.
“It might be if we manage to make return agreements work, and if things change in other countries, the number could be very small,” he said.
He was asked many times, but he wouldn’t give a specific number of deportations needed to scare off potential migrants. However, he did say that they would need to send a strong message to potential migrants.
Home Office officials have said no to approving the plan because they don’t think it’s worth the money. They say they can’t tell how well it will stop migrants until flights to Rwanda start.
‘Gimmick’ Government leaders say that once the program is functioning, it will save money for taxpayers by decreasing the amount of money the government currently spends on housing migrants in UK hotels, which is currently £8 million per day.
However, the department has found it difficult to send back many of the small boat migrants who have come to the UK in the last few years.
Last month, it was found out that only 1,040 people who arrived in small boats and were not foreign criminals have been sent back to their country or another country in the past three years.
Out of these, only 408 people were not from Albania. The government made an agreement with Albania to send them back quickly in late 2022.
As part of the EU, the UK could send back many migrants every year using the Dublin regulations. But the EU has said no to including this in a new agreement.
Labour said the Rwanda policy is just a trick and they will get rid of it if they win the election later this year.
It also wants to make a new agreement with the EU to send migrants back there.
The party has said it might be OK with allowing a certain number of immigrants to come to the UK, but they haven’t said how many.
The House of Lords has voted for the UK to wait before making a new treaty with Rwanda. They want Rwanda to make their asylum procedures better first.
Friends supported a suggestion for the government to not approve the treaty with 214 votes in favor and 171 against.
The treaty was signed in December and is important to Rishi Sunak’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. It is different from the Rwanda Safety Bill.
“He said it’s not okay for people to travel from a safe country like France to another safe country like Britain and be allowed to stay. That’s what the Rwanda plan is about. ”
Next week, the members of parliament will start discussing the bill that tries to make it harder for asylum seekers to fight against being sent back to Rwanda.
Even though the vote on the treaty doesn’t force anyone to do something, it shows how many people might disagree with Mr Sunak when the bill is discussed in the Lords.
Only one Conservative, the Earl of Dundee, went against the government in Monday’s vote.
The vote was the first one to happen after the rules changed in 2010. The new rules gave the Lords ways to disagree with treaty agreements.
Once the Rwanda Bill becomes a law, the treaty will be officially approved – even though the government doesn’t need the support of parliament to do so.
The UK-Rwanda Treaty is an important part of the government’s plan to stop migrants from coming to the UK by crossing the Channel in small boats.
The treaty was written because the Supreme Court said that the Rwanda policy is not allowed.
James Cleverly, the person in charge of keeping the country safe, signed a new important agreement in Kigali. He said this agreement will make sure that people who move to Rwanda won’t be sent back to a place where their life or freedom is in danger. This is called non-refoulement.
The agreement creates a new group of judges from different countries who are experts in asylum cases. They will listen to and decide on individual immigration cases.
The government says a group will watch over Rwanda’s asylum system. This group will have more power to make sure the rules are followed.
The government is going to create a way for people who have been moved to a new place and their lawyers to make complaints.
But the House of Lords agreed on Monday that the treaty should be put on hold until the government can show that Rwanda is safe.
Lord Goldsmith, a member of the Labour Party who used to be the Attorney General, suggested the motion. It was on behalf of a group of politicians from different parties called the International Agreements Committee. They found 10 problems in the Rwandan asylum system.
Last week, a group released a report saying that the protections promised by the Rwanda Treaty have not been put in place yet.
Lord Goldsmith said that the government has asked Parliament to decide if Rwanda is safe now.
And yet, according to the home secretary’s own proof, this cannot be true because the measures are not ready and have not been proven to work.
The Liberal Democrat spokesperson Lord Fox said that there are many reasons to wait before making the treaty official until everything needed for it to work properly is ready.
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame said he might give back the money to the UK if they don’t send any asylum seekers to his country as part of their agreement.
The UK has given Rwanda £240m and will give another £50m later. No asylum seekers have been sent to the country yet.
When Kagame was asked why he was taking the money, he said, “I will only use it if those people come. ” If they don’t show up, we can give the money back.
In response to what Mr. Kagame said on Wednesday, a spokeswoman said that if the UK asks for their money back, they will think about it.
The president spoke before an important vote in the government. The vote passed a law to bring back the deportation plan, which was declared illegal by the Supreme Court last year.
The new law will now be looked at closely by the House of Lords. It is expected to face a lot of disagreement there.
The Rwandan government said the money they received was for helping their country grow economically and to get ready to welcome and take care of migrants when they come.
“Rwanda doesn’t have to give back any of the money they received, according to the agreement,” said spokesperson Yolande Makolo.
If no migrants come to Rwanda as part of the plan, and the UK government wants their money back that was supposed to support the migrants, we will think about giving them a refund.
“At this time, it’s too early to discuss numbers because we’re still waiting for the UK government to finish making decisions. We are still determined to make the partnership successful. ”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak thinks that sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda will stop other people from trying to cross the Channel in small boats.
Labour says the plan is too expensive and won’t work. They would get rid of the policy if they win the election. The problem in the UK.
On Wednesday evening, members of parliament voted to bring back the scheme, after a group of Conservative MPs who opposed it did not succeed in stopping it.
Many Conservative members of Parliament tried to change the bill, but they did not succeed. They believe that the law won’t do a good enough job of preventing individual appeals from stopping deportation flights.
Before the vote, the BBC’s Economics Editor Faisal Islam got a short interview with Paul Kagame at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The president didn’t say how much money he could give back to the UK, or when.
Mr Kagame was asked about the current problems with the deal in his country. He said it’s not Rwanda’s problem. “He said that the UK should be asked because it is their problem, not Rwanda’s problem. “
Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves was happy that Mr. Kagame offered to give back the money. She promised to use the money to help with asylum cases and to stop criminal gangs.
She said in Davos that using the money for controlling small boat crossings would be a better idea and have a better chance of success. ‘Lost’ people looking for a safe place to stay.
Labour says the Rwanda plan will end up costing British taxpayers £400 million in the long run.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the government lost track of more than 4,000 people they were supposed to send to Rwanda.
The Daily Telegraph reported that out of 5,000 people who were supposed to be deported, only 700 are keeping in touch with officials.
Sir Keir said that spending £400 million on a plan that doesn’t help anyone in Rwanda and resulted in the loss of 4,000 people is not a real plan, it’s just a joke.
“This government spent a lot of money on a policy to remove people, but it didn’t actually remove anyone. ”
Mr Sunak supported the government’s work on immigration, then said: “It’s not fair to hear him acting like he cares about stopping the boats when he has said clearly that he would get rid of the plan even if it’s working to reduce the numbers. ”
“He doesn’t have strong beliefs or a clear plan, so we’re starting over again. ”
The Home Office told BBC that its documents were leaked to The Telegraph and are not available to the public.
It said the numbers are based on old data from last year. It didn’t say if there are new numbers or when they might be available.
The Home Office has a special team that works with the police and others to find and bring back people who have left without permission using all kinds of technology.
Rishi Sunak got his important Rwanda bill approved by the House of Commons, despite a rebellion from some members of the Conservative party not happening.
The bill to prevent legal challenges against sending asylum seekers to Rwanda was passed with 320 votes for and 276 votes against.
Many Conservative party members thought the bill was wrong and had said they would not support it, but in the end, only 11 of them voted against it.
The bill will now be reviewed by the House of Lords, and it’s expected to meet strong resistance.
Mr Sunak thinks that sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda will stop others from trying to come to the UK by crossing the Channel in small boats. But the Labour party thinks this plan is just a costly trick.
The government wants to start the flights to Rwanda by the spring.
The prime minister will give a speech at Downing Street about the policy at 10:15 GMT.
In the last two days, some Conservative Party MPs have tried to make changes to the bill. They say that, without changes, the government’s plan for Rwanda could be stopped by the courts.
On Wednesday, ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick proposed a change that would allow the UK government to not follow some human rights laws when sending people to Rwanda.
Mr Jenrick suggested a change that would make sure that government officials will always say no to temporary orders from the European Court of Human Rights that come at the last minute.
This rule stopped a flight to Rwanda in June 2022.
The amendment was not supported by Members of Parliament but 61 Conservative members backed it – the largest rebellion during Mr. Sunak’s time as leader.
Some Members of Parliament said they might not vote at all or vote against the whole bill if it didn’t change.
If about 30 Conservatives had voted against the bill, it could have failed. This would have hurt the prime minister’s power a lot and could have been very bad for him.
However, only 11 Members of Parliament, including Mr. Jenrick and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, voted against it.
Other members of the Conservative party on the list are Miriam Cates, Sir Simon Clarke, Mark Francois and Danny Kruger.
Eighteen Conservative Members of Parliament didn’t vote, but some might have just missed the vote instead of intentionally choosing not to vote.
Danny Kruger, a Conservative, voted against the bill. He said some of his colleagues supported the bill even though they were worried about it, to avoid causing problems in politics.
Sir Simon Clarke, who is against the bill, said: “All Conservatives want the Rwanda policy to work well. Some of us are worried about the bill, but history will show who was correct.
Labour did not like the bill. Yvette Cooper, who is in charge of home affairs for Labour, called the policy a “expensive trick” because it has not yet sent any asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Home Secretary James Cleverly supported the plan by saying that it clearly shows if you come to the United Kingdom illegally, you can’t stay.
“He said that this law was carefully written to stop the cycle of court battles. ”
The argument about the law showed that Conservatives are still divided. On Tuesday evening, two deputy chairmen, Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith, gave up their positions to vote for the changes proposed by rebels.
Mr Clarke-Smith supported the bill at the end, even though he had worries about it, while Mr. Anderson did not vote.
One person opposing the government told the BBC that the vote tonight won’t be the last decision.
If the House of Lords decides to send back changes that make the bill less strong, some Conservative MPs might propose different changes to make the bill stronger.
The new law may face even more resistance in the House of Lords, where many members are worried about if it follows the rules of international law.
Crossbench peer Lord Carlile, a top lawyer and former independent reviewer of terrorism laws, said that although peers won’t stop the government, the Lords have a duty to safeguard the public from the government doing things that are not legally correct or principled.
He told the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that we have seen in other countries the harm caused when governments think they are more important than the courts because of their political goals.
“This is a move towards a totalitarian government, which the United Kingdom usually disapproves of. ”
Mr Sunak will ask the other leaders to pass the bill quickly so that the policy can start.
However, some members of the conservative party who oppose the bill disagree and think that planes will still be stopped from flying due to legal challenges even after the bill is passed.
Chris Philp, who works for the government, said on BBC Breakfast that they want flights to start in the spring.
He downplayed disagreements in the party and said that almost everyone agreed that the bill was a good idea and a big step forward for the Conservative side.
On Wednesday, the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, said that he would give the money back to the UK if they didn’t send any asylum seekers to his country.
The UK has already given £240 million to the east African country and plans to give another £50 million.
A Rwandan government spokesperson said that they don’t have to give the money back, but they will think about returning it if the UK asks.
In Westminster, a person from Downing Street said they are not trying to change the Civil Service rules to say that emergency orders from the European Court of Human Rights should be ignored.
Earlier in the day, Minister Michael Tomlinson from the Home Office said the government was considering changing the rules, but later No 10 said they were not trying to change them.
The Cabinet Office said that civil servants should follow a minister’s decision to not listen to court rulings.
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame said he will give back the money to the UK if they don’t send any refugees to his country as part of their agreement.
The UK has given £240m to Rwanda, and will give another £50m later. Until now, no refugees have been sent to the country.
When Kagame was asked why he was taking the money, he said: “I will only use it if those people come. ” “If they don’t show up, we can give the money back. ”
The prime minister says his idea to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda will stop other people from trying to come to the UK in small boats.
Labour thinks it is a costly trick that won’t be effective, and they would get rid of the policy if they win the election.
Some of Mr Sunak’s own Conservative party members disagree with him. They think the rules are not strict enough and the government should be willing to break international laws to start deportation flights.
On Wednesday evening, Members of Parliament will vote on changes to a law and decide if the bill should move on to the next step.
The government thinks they will win the vote, even though many right-wing Tory MPs rebelled on Tuesday.
The BBC’s economics expert, Faisal Islam, quickly spoke to Paul Kagame at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The president did not say how much money he will give back to the UK, or when. When asked about the problems with the deal involving his country, Mr. Kagame said that it’s not Rwanda’s problem. The President said that the UK should handle the problem, not Rwanda.
Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said she is happy that Mr. Kagame offered to give back the money. She promised to use the money to handle asylum requests and to stop the criminal gangs involved in this situation.
She said in Davos that it would be better to use the money for controlling small boat crossings, which is essential and more likely to succeed.
Rishi Sunak will talk to Keir Starmer before a vote on the Rwanda bill tonight.
Two Conservative Party deputy chairmen and a ministerial aide quit their roles on Tuesday to go against the bill.
Even though some people are against it, the people in charge are still sure that the whole bill will be approved in a vote tonight. If the bill is approved, it will then be sent to the House of Lords where they can suggest changes.
The law wants to bring back the government’s idea to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda and stop people from crossing the Channel in small boats.
Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith, who were deputy chairs, left their positions to join around 60 Tory MPs supporting a change that made the law stricter.
At least four members of the Conservative party, including former cabinet ministers Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman, have said they are ready to vote against the bill if it is not made better.
PMQs starts at 12:00 GMT. You can watch it on this page by clicking Play at the top.
Lee Anderson has quit his job as the deputy Conservative chairman because he disagrees with the government’s important Rwanda bill.
Another leader of the party, Brendan Clarke-Smith, quit before voting against the government.
In a letter they wrote together to the leader of the country, the two people said they were in favor of the law but wanted to make sure it was very strong and secure.
They were part of a group of 60 Conservative MPs who supported a change to the bill that rebels said was meant to make it stronger.
The law aims to bring back the government’s idea to send certain people seeking asylum to Rwanda and to stop others from coming to the UK in small boats.
In their letter to quit, the two people said they had previously argued that “safeguards” were needed to make sure the law was very strong.
They said it’s important to be consistent with this to keep our credibility.
The Tory MPs said they backed rebel changes to the Rwanda bill because they want it to work, even though they aren’t against the law.
Plans have been made to select 150 judges to handle a new system for quickly deciding on appeals for people being deported from Rwanda.
The justice secretary said that over 100 staff have been hired to help with a new system for reviewing deportation orders.
Last year, a law was proposed to create new courts to prevent migrant appeals from causing delays in the justice system.
MPs are starting to talk about a bill that wants to bring back the Prime Minister’s idea to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Additional resources have been created to address criticism from some Conservatives MPs that allowing individual appeals against deportation to Rwanda will cause too much work for the courts and should be completely stopped.
Alex Chalk, the person in charge of justice, said the changes will make 5,000 more days available to hear asylum cases.
Members of Parliament are talking about the Safety of Rwanda Bill in the House of Commons.
The government wants to send some people seeking asylum to Rwanda to stop them from trying to come to the UK in small boats. Labour has said they don’t like the policy because they think it costs too much and is just a trick. They would rather focus on stopping the gangs that smuggle things.
After the court made a decision, the government made a new law called the Safety of Rwanda Bill. This law says that in the UK, Rwanda is considered a safe country.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is having trouble with his power because two Conservative vice chairmen said they would support a series of rebel changes to his main Rwanda bill.
Make the process simpler and more efficient.
The government wants to calm worries about legal issues by adding more judges to the tribunal system. They will move some judges from the lower tribunal to the higher tribunal to handle appeals from Rwanda.
Judges will get extra learning and more money to work on nights and weekends. The government made 25 more rooms for hearings to handle more cases.
The change is meant to bring all complicated migration cases and appeals to one place, making the process more efficient.
The Home Office studied and found that almost all legal challenges under the Illegal Migration Act will not succeed. However, there is still a chance that many people appealing could overwhelm the system and cause delays in their removal.
The Ministry of Justice has been working with the courts since last summer to make more room in the system before starting the Rwanda policy.
The person in charge of justice said the judges will decide if they need extra judges for a little while.
Rishi Sunak is having a big problem with some members of his political party because they don’t like his idea to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.
More than 30 members of the party’s less influential members support making it more difficult for people to appeal deportation by changing the bill next week.
The changes show how divided the Tory party is on the policy, which the Prime Minister thinks is very important.
Ministers say that only a very small number of appeals are allowed in the bill.
Some people who support the changes are former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and a few former cabinet ministers, including former home secretary Suella Braverman.
Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who quit because of the proposed law last month and is a leading rebel, said the new law would not stop people from challenging immigration decisions over and over again.
Last month, the government made a new law because the Supreme Court said their plan to send asylum seekers to East Africa was not allowed.
The law wants to say that it’s okay to send refugees to Rwanda from the UK. This would stop flights from being stopped because of legal reasons.
Government officials may not have to follow urgent rules from the European Court of Human Rights to stop a flight to Rwanda while a person’s legal case is being decided.
However, the rebels believe that the policy can still be stopped by many people appealing against it, and they want to make the circumstances for allowing appeals stricter.
They also want to make it the usual thing for ministers to ignore orders from the ECHR that stop flights.
‘Be the one who gets the last word in the discussion’
The changes probably won’t pass on Tuesday because they won’t get enough support from Labour MPs to beat the government’s majority.
But, if the rebels vote against the government’s bill later on and it stays the same, the bill could be in danger.
A group of 29 MPs could be powerful enough to change Mr Sunak’s 56-seat majority if they vote with Labour, who doesn’t agree with the Rwanda policy.
Mr Jenrick said on BBC Radio 4’s Today show that he might vote against the entire bill if their suggested changes don’t work.
But he said he was not thinking about that yet, and the rebels wanted to win the argument.
One Nation stress
Government might give in to the rebels to get them to agree, but experts think this probably won’t happen until the bill is almost finished in Parliament.
The government is feeling pressure from some members of the Conservative Party who believe that the bill can’t be made stricter without breaking international law.
Mr Jenrick said the current bill would not work because it does not stop people from coming to the UK to ask for asylum.
He said that people should only be able to appeal to not be sent out of the country in a few special situations, like if a woman is having a baby or if someone can’t travel on a plane.
“If we don’t change this law, there will be more people crossing the border illegally, more poorly run hotels for migrants, and we will waste billions of taxpayer dollars in the future,” he said.
Downing Street said that the bill is the strongest law ever in Parliament and it shows that this Parliament, not any foreign court, has the most power.
Rwanda and Jordan have signed many agreements to make their relationship stronger.
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and Jordan’s King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein signed agreements during King Abdullah’s three-day visit to Kigali. The visit started on Sunday.
The agreements include working together on health, medicine, trade, and farming.
The two countries made a tax agreement to stop people from being taxed twice and to prevent them from avoiding paying taxes, said Jordan’s palace in a statement.
The two countries will also strengthen their connections in politics, defense, and fighting against terrorism.
The leaders talked about the war in Gaza too.
“The king said thank you to Rwanda for helping out in Gaza by sending a plane with aid”, reported Jordan’s palace.
The two countries have become closer to each other in recent years. They made some deals last February and agreed to let each other’s citizens visit without needing a visa last August.
Rishi Sunak wasn’t sure about sending migrants to Rwanda when he was in charge, according to BBC documents.
They say Mr Sunak wanted to make No 10’s first plans smaller.
They also show that he wasn’t sure if the plan would actually stop people from crossing the Channel.
They recommend that he didn’t want to pay for housing for migrants in special centers, and preferred to use hotels or private homes because they are less expensive.
As the leader of the government, Mr Sunak has made the Rwanda plan a very important task because his party wanted him to.
The plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing and possibly resettling them was first announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in April 2022. This is to stop people from crossing the English Channel in small boats.
Mr Sunak became prime minister in October 2022. Before that, he was in charge of the country’s money as the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Rwanda policy was talked about.
Legal problems have caused the deal to be delayed many times. No asylum seekers have been sent from the UK yet.
The No 10 papers were made in March 2022. Johnson wanted Mr. Sunak to agree to give more money for the plan. This happened shortly before the agreement with Rwanda to handle migrants was made.
They say that Mr. Sunak was worried about how much it would cost to send asylum seekers to the African country, and he wanted to start with only a few people.
They say the chancellor wants to start with fewer items at first, 500 instead of 1,500 in the first year, and 3,000 instead of 5,000 in years two and three.
The final plan’s numbers were never confirmed, but in April 2022 the BBC saw where asylum seekers would stay. It was believed to have enough room for up to 500 people per year, which matches Mr. Sunak’s arguments
The papers show that No 10 and 11 Downing Street disagree on whether the proposed plan will work. The chancellor thinks it won’t.
Mr Sunak doesn’t want to pay for places where migrants can stay, like the Greek-style reception centers. Instead of housing them in hotels, which is costing £3. 5 million each day.
They say the chancellor doesn’t want to pay for places where people can stay without being locked up, like the reception centers in Greece, because hotels are cheaper.
The papers show that the Treasury wanted to send migrants to live in different parts of the country, which is called “dispersal”.
The papers also show that No 10 recommended telling Mr. Sunak to think about how much people like him if he didn’t want to agree to changes to the migration system, including the plan for Rwanda.
The UK Supreme Court said the proposal is not allowed, but the prime minister wants to make a new law so that planes can fly to Rwanda.
However, the news about his uncertainty over the plan might cause problems, especially since some MPs in his party want him to do more to achieve his target of stopping migrants from crossing the Channel, which could mean leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.
Someone who knows the prime minister well told the BBC: “The prime minister always supported the idea of the program as a way to discourage people from doing something. ”
“His job as chancellor was to make sure the government worked well and spent taxpayers’ money wisely. ”
A government official said, “Rishi, as the chancellor, provided funding for the Rwanda scheme and made it a central part of his 10-point plan just one month after becoming the Prime Minister. ”
“Now he is approving the Rwanda Bill because the Supreme Court said it’s okay to start flying again. He is the first leader to ever see a decrease in small boat crossings, which were down by 36% last year.
Labour MP Yvette Cooper said the Tories’ Rwanda scheme is fake and Rishi Sunak is now weak.
The prime minister knew the plan would cost a lot of money and wouldn’t work. He didn’t like the plan when he was in charge of the money. He is very weak and agreed to give Rwanda £400 million without visiting there, to try to make people trust him as a leader.
The Tories always go for flashy ideas instead of handling important issues, like Rwanda or hotels.
“It’s time for them to stop pretending and start following Labour’s plan to take action against the criminal smuggling gangs, make a new security deal with Europe to improve border protection, and create a new team to quickly remove people who shouldn’t be in the UK. ”
What is the plan for helping refugees from Rwanda.
Some asylum seekers arriving in the UK would be sent to Rwanda for processing as part of a five-year trial.
When they arrive, they might be given refugee status and permitted to remain. If not, they could try to live there for different reasons, or ask for protection in a different country.
The government said that anyone who comes to the UK illegally after 1 January 2022 could be sent back to their country, and there would be no limit on how many people could be sent back.
However, up to now, no person asking for safety has been sent away.
The first flight was supposed to happen in June 2022, but it got canceled because of legal problems.
The government says the policy would stop people from coming to the UK in dangerous or illegal ways, like on small boats across the English Channel.
In January 2023, Mr Sunak said that one of his main focuses was to stop boats from coming.
Last month, he promised to continue the work of bringing back the plan after immigration minister Robert Jenrick resigned. Jenrick quit because he thought the government’s new policy wouldn’t work.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has overcome a disagreement within his party about the Rwanda bill, but he still needs to work hard to pass it through Parliament.
The law passed its first test in the House of Commons with a lot of support, but there will be more votes in the new year.
None of the Tory MPs voted against, but some people who don’t fully agree with the party chose not to vote.
The rebels said that the Prime Minister had told them he would think about making the bill stricter.
However, doing this may cause some moderate Conservative Members of Parliament to withdraw their support. They have cautioned that they would resist any future changes that would violate international law.
The new law was created to support the government’s idea to send some refugees to Rwanda.
The government wants to stop migrants from using small boats to cross the Channel. Sunak thinks this is very important.
Nervousness in Downing Street about a close result made Climate Minister Graham Stuart come back from a climate conference in Dubai to vote.
However, even though some conservative members threatened to vote against the bill, only members from the opposing party actually did, and the bill was approved with 313 votes in favor and 269 against.
About 29 Conservative Members of Parliament, including former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, decided not to support the bill and chose to abstain.
In total, 37 Tory MPs didn’t vote. Some of them might not have been able to go to the vote instead of choosing not to vote.
Just before the vote, five groups of lower-ranking MPs said they couldn’t agree with the bill the way it is.
They want to suggest changes to the bill. They also said they might vote against the bill in the new year if their changes are not accepted.
Mark Francois, who leads a group on the right side of the party called the ERG, didn’t vote. He said to BBC News: “We didn’t vote because we don’t think the bill is strong enough to guarantee that flights will go to Rwanda. ”
The prime minister said he would consider making the bill stricter. “He said that we believe what he said. ”
“Many members of parliament supported the government’s vote. ” Because they were told in private that changes would be made later.
However, if the government agrees to their requests, it will cause more problems.
The One Nation group, made up of over 100 Tory MPs, suggested that its members should vote for the bill. However, they also said that they would not support any changes that would make the UK government break the law or its agreements with other countries.
Matt Warman, a member of the group, said on the BBC’s World Tonight program that they don’t want the bill to break international law. Anything that breaks those laws is not an option.
He said that we might be able to find a fair agreement as we continue working on this bill.
It might be harder to pass stricter laws in the House of Lords.
Damian Green, the head of One Nation, told BBC News that the vote had less people not voting than he thought and that if the government keeps their position, they can probably pass this law without changes.
Chris Philp, who is the Home Office Minister, said that the government is willing to consider suggestions from MPs on how to make the bill better.
“Government ministers will talk to members of Parliament to see if they can make the bill stricter and better so that there are no ways to get around it,” he said.
Ben Bradley, a member of the Common Sense Group in Parliament, said on BBC Newsnight that sometimes practicality needs to be balanced with beliefs. What is the most powerful thing we can deliver compared to what is completely flawless.
The bill wants to make it a rule in UK law that it is okay to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, because the Supreme Court said the old policy was not allowed.
However, some people in the party’s conservative wing say that it is not powerful enough right now to stop legal challenges to deportations.
A spokesperson from No 10 said that this bill is the strictest law ever brought to Parliament. It also makes it clear that the Parliament is the highest authority, not any court from another country.
“We will now work to make sure that this bill becomes a law so that we can have flights to Rwanda and stop the boats,” said the spokesperson.
Labour, along with other parties, voted no on the bill. They said that if they win the next election, they will get rid of the plan for Rwanda.
The money given to Rwanda could be used to stop groups that smuggle people.
Yvette Cooper, who is a member of the Labour party and speaks for them on home affairs, said that the Conservative party’s disagreements are still going on, and it is causing problems for the country.
“Today’s debate showed that Rishi Sunak is not very strong, and the problems within the Tory party are still going on into the new year. “
He did not want to say why he was voting against the government or if he was trying to cause trouble for the prime minister when the media asked him.
But when speaking to the media’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show this week, Jenrick said that Rishi Sunak decided to bring back the scheme in a way that probably won’t work because it was a political decision.
He said he quit his job on December 6 because he didn’t want to ask lawmakers to vote for a law that he thought was not strong enough.
Rishi Sunak is trying to convince members of his political party to support his important bill about Rwanda before an important vote in Parliament.
This morning, the Prime Minister talked to 15 Conservative MPs at Downing Street. He will have more meetings later today.
The government‘s new law for Rwanda is being talked about and voted on by the MPs tonight.
The plan is made to send people who come to the UK on small boats to a country in East Africa, where they can ask for protection.
Some Conservative party members don’t like the new plan. Some MPs on the right think it might be stopped by the courts. Others think it doesn’t follow international law.
Changes were required because the highest court in the UK stopped the plan in November. They said it could put asylum seekers in danger.
The leader of Congo has strongly criticized the leader of Rwanda by comparing him to Adolf Hitler.
Félix Tshisekedi said that Paul Kagame was acting like Hitler and he also said that he believes Kagame will meet the same fate as Hitler.
Mr Tshisekedi, who is running for election again, was speaking at a gathering in Bukavu, near the border with Rwanda.
He often says that Rwanda supports rebels in the eastern part of his country, but Rwanda always denies it.
The person speaking for Rwanda’s government said the president of Congo‘s comments were a clear threat.
With the election coming up in less than two weeks, Mr. Tshisekedi is working to get support for another term in office. Efforts to stop the fighting in the eastern part of the country have not worked. The area is still not safe, even though troops from the region and the UN have been there. Now, those troops are going away.
Many different armed groups have caused chaos, including the M23 rebels led by the Tutsi people. Tshisekedi says they are supported by Rwanda.
A group of experts from the UN noticed the same thing in a report they released. The US supported their findings.
The M23 group has been taking over land in Congo and making hundreds of thousands of people leave their homes.
On Friday night, Mr Tshisekedi told his supporters that he would tell Mr Kagame that if he wants to act like Adolf Hitler by trying to take over more land, he will suffer the same fate as Adolf Hitler.
“But now he has found someone who is just as strong and is trying to stop him and keep his country safe. ”
Hitler caused the deaths of millions of people, including six million Jewish people in the Holocaust. He killed himself in a bunker in the German capital, Berlin, in 1945.
His attempt to make Germany bigger caused World War Two.
Mr Tshisekedi has said before that the leader of Rwanda is against the Democratic Republic of Congo. Last year, he said in a BBC interview that their relationship was not very close. “It was him who made the bad choice to attack Congo. ”
Mr Kagame always ignored that talk before and said Mr Tshisekedi is a “war monger”. Instead, he is focused on another rebel group, the Hutu-led FDLR, in the eastern DR Congo, which Rwanda sees as a danger.
Yolande Makolo, a spokesperson for the Rwandan government, said on a social media platform that the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo made a strong threat, when talking about Hitler. She was worried because a rebel group called FDLR has a lot of weapons.
Mr Kagame has been the main leader in Rwanda since the terrible event in 1994 when many people were killed by some people who didn’t like them because of their ethnicity.
Ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick said Rishi Sunak is choosing to bring back the Rwanda asylum plan in a way that probably won’t succeed.
In his first talk since leaving his job, Mr. Jenrick told the media that the proposed law was not strong and would face a lot of legal challenges.
However, he mentioned that the Prime Minister had decided to go ahead and introduce it.
He said he won’t vote for the bill on Tuesday.
The government has made a new law to restart its plan to send people looking for asylum in the UK to East Africa, because the old plan was said to be against the law by the Supreme Court last month.
The law wants to say that Rwanda is a safe place for refugees in the UK. This means flights won’t be stopped because of legal issues.
But, when talking to BBC One’s Sunday program with Laura Kuenssberg, Mr. Jenrick said the law as it is now would still allow many different legal complaints that will slow down our plan.
“I believe they decided to propose a bill that won’t work,” he said.
He said that the plan for Rwanda might lead to a few symbolic flights, but it wouldn’t stop enough people from coming to the UK in small boats to seek asylum.
The plan to bring back the program has caused different beliefs among Conservative lawmakers. Sunak needs their support to make sure the plan moves forward in Parliament next week.
Last week, the prime minister said in a news conference that the new immigration law is very strict. People arriving in small boats can only challenge it in court if they have strong proof that they are in serious danger.
Some liberal Tories think it goes too far in trying to go around the courts and could make the UK break its promises to refugees.
Some people in the party’s right side think the plan isn’t good enough and will still face problems with the law.
Mr Jenrick said that he and other Conservative MPs want to convince government ministers to make the new law in a better way. He also said he wants the law to be effective and to stop people from doing bad things.
On the same show, Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove said the government’s law is strong and legal.
He also said that there would be very few legal challenges.
The UK has given Rwanda an extra £100 million this year as part of their agreement to move asylum seekers there.
In a letter to MPs, the top official at the Home Office said that the money was sent to the African nation in April.
Sir Matthew Rycroft said that they are expecting to receive another payment of £50 million next year.
The news came a few hours after Rishi Sunak promised to keep working on the plan because his immigration minister quit.
The plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda to process their applications and possibly allow them to live there, was first announced by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in April 2022. This was to stop people from crossing the English Channel in small boats.
‘Something to hide’
The process has been delayed multiple times because of legal issues, and no people seeking asylum have been sent from the UK yet.
So far, we knew that the government had spent at least £140 million on the policy. Sir Matthew had said no before when asked to share new numbers. He said the government decided to show the costs every year instead.
The numbers were shared in a letter to Dame Diana Johnson and Dame Meg Hiller, who are in charge of committees about home affairs and government spending.
Dame Meg told BBC Radio 4’s Today show that the total cost of the policy was only disclosed after many questions.
“It seems like the government is hiding something,” she said.
Sir Matthew said that the extra payments were not connected to the new agreement signed between the UK and Rwanda this week. This is part of the government’s effort to change the policy that was found illegal by the Supreme Court last month.
The minister in charge of legal immigration, Tom Pursglove, said the money was being used to make sure the Rwanda policy was strong and solid.
He said the plan is very important for saving money on housing migrants in UK hotels, which is currently costing £8 million a day for the government.
Robert Jenrick’s job as immigration minister was divided into two after he quit. Michael Tomlinson is in charge of dealing with people who come to a country without permission.
Labour called the news about the extra costs “amazing”, with Yvette Cooper, who is the shadow home secretary, saying: “How many more unlimited amounts of money will Rishi Sunak give out before the Tories tell the truth about this plan being a complete joke. ”
“It’s like spending £100 million for each trip the home secretary takes to Rwanda,” she said.
The Home Office said Rwanda can initially take 200 people a year, but they want to increase that number later on.
The department thinks it will cost £169,000 to send someone to a safe country, not specifically Rwanda, compared to £106,000 if they stay in the UK.
Legal issues or problems with the law
Earlier in the day, Mr. Sunak gave a speech and asked the members of the Conservative Party to support his idea.
The prime minister talked the day after immigration minister Robert Jenrick quit because he didn’t think the government’s new policy would work.
Mr Sunak said the new law from the government will stop the cycle of legal problems about sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda.
The bill makes judges treat Rwanda as a safe country and allows ministers to ignore parts of the Human Rights Act. However, it does not go as far as letting them get rid of the European Convention on Human Rights, as some on the right side of the Conservative Party have asked for.
The proposed law is being challenged by some members of the Conservative Party in Parliament next week.
On Thursday, Suella Braverman, who used to be in charge of keeping the country safe, said again that the plan would not work to prevent people from coming by boat. She wants the government to completely ignore international law.
The Times said that important government lawyers told No 10 that the new law might still let migrants argue against being sent to Rwanda.
Mr Pursglove told BBC Radio 4’s Today show that the new law would stop people from trying to delay the appeals process.
On Sky News, he said government officials will work with lawmakers to address any worries they have.
The Home Office said the bill, which will be introduced to Parliament on Thursday, states in UK law that Rwanda is a safe country for asylum seekers.
The new agreement was signed by Home Secretary James Cleverly with a country in East Africa.
The treaty and bill aim to tackle the issues raised by the Supreme Court.
The top court in the UK said it was not allowed to send some people seeking asylum to Rwanda.
In April 2022, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a plan to stop people from crossing the Channel in small boats.
Legal issues have caused delays, so no one seeking asylum has been sent to Rwanda from the UK.
The bill needs to be approved by Parliament and it removes certain parts of the Human Rights Act.
However, it doesn’t go as far as some Conservative MPs on the party’s right would have wanted.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman and her supporters wanted to get rid of the Human Rights Act and other international laws.
Someone who knows Mrs. Braverman well said the bill has serious problems and will be stuck in the courts for a long time.
“The prime minister has allowed all illegal migrants to make human rights claims if they are being sent back, and they can appeal if their claims are denied,” according to the source.
“It’s another letdown for the Tory voters and the normal patriotic people who want to stop this madness. ”
The new law admits that it might not follow basic human rights rules.
Laws don’t usually come before members of parliament with a legal warning.
This is the second time this year that the government has asked Parliament to vote on laws that might not be legal – the first time was with the Illegal Migration Act.
Lawyers have warned government officials that the new laws in Rwanda could be challenged in court and might not be compatible with human rights obligations.
Rwanda’s foreign minister, Vincent Biruta, said that the country cannot continue with the plan unless the UK behaves according to the law.
He said: “Rwanda and the UK both think it’s really important that our partnership follows international law and requires both countries to act in a lawful way. ”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that with the new emergency law, we will be able to control who comes into our country, stop people from making dangerous trips across the channel, and reduce the number of lawsuits in our courts.
The head of the Home Office, James Cleverly, signed a new agreement with Rwanda on Tuesday, because the Supreme Court said that the old plans were not allowed.
His predecessor, Suella Braverman, said that the UK should ignore human rights laws in order to carry out the plan.
Some MPs in the party said this is a very important issue.
The Prime Minister will announce new laws very soon, Home Office minister Chris Philp stated on BBC Radio 4.
Mr Sunak said he will make changes to the law that the Supreme Court was worried about. The law was about sending people seeking safety to east Africa.
It is made to work with the new agreement where the UK will give money to Rwanda to help them process asylum requests for people who come to the UK.
The UK will now pay for British and Commonwealth judges to oversee a new appeals process in Rwanda, as well as cover the legal fees for anyone sent there. Conservative breaks up.
Mr Philp said to the BBC that the bill will do anything necessary to make the Rwanda plan happen.
The BBC knows that moderate Conservative MPs are concerned that Mr. Sunak may be thinking about Mrs. Braverman’s plans to ignore human rights laws.
Mrs Braverman, who used to be in charge of laws, has said before that the bill should not follow the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as well as other international rules like the Refugee Convention.
The One Nation Caucus, which is made up of 106 Conservative MPs, asked the prime minister to not listen to these requests.
Ex-deputy prime minister Damian Green, who now leads the One Nation Caucus, said the government should reconsider before going against the ECHR and HRA.
Mr Green said that Conservative governments have been very important in making and keeping the ECHR and the Refugee and Torture conventions.
“We still value these agreements and they are important for protecting the UK’s democratic history. ”
Matt Warman, an important member of the group, said: “Many Conservatives will not accept going against the ECHR. ” Any Conservative government should focus on making institutions better and protecting human rights.
Mark Francois, the leader of the ERG, said the group won’t support any new laws that don’t “completely respect the power of Parliament, with clear wording”.
The ERG, a powerful group of MPs who support Brexit, said they will only support the bill if it is approved by a group of legal experts led by MP Bill Cash.
James Cleverly, a government official, is in Rwanda to make a new agreement with the country about where people who need protection can go.
The new rule will send some people seeking asylum to Rwanda to apply for asylum there. It was first talked about in April 2022.
The government wants to improve the treaty and create new laws to make sure its plan doesn’t face more legal problems.
The BBC was told that the new agreement might mean British lawyers will work in Rwandan courts to help with the concerns of the Supreme Court.
Before he left for his trip, Cleverly said that Rwanda is a safe country. He also said he wants to stop people from crossing the English Channel in small boats.
The UK government gave £140m to Rwanda for the plan, but no migrants have gone there yet.
British lawyers may go to courts in Rwanda as part of an agreement that allows the UK government to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
It would try to solve the problems that the Supreme Court raised when it said the Rwanda plan was not allowed last month.
More information will be given on Tuesday. Home Secretary James Cleverly will go to Rwanda to sign the agreement.
It will be followed by a new law to stop the plan from being blocked in the courts again.
At the same time, the government is going to announce its plans to lower the number of people who can legally move to the country. This is because new data shows that there were a lot of people who moved to the country last year.
Starting in April 2022, some people who are seeking asylum will be sent to Rwanda to apply there.
After the Supreme Court ruling last month, government officials are hurrying to bring back the policy before spring, when they want the first flights to start.
People who are not given permission to stay in Rwanda as refugees can try to stay there for other reasons, or they can ask for protection in another safe country.
The highest court in the UK said no to the policy because it was not certain that the courts in Rwanda would follow a law called non-refoulment.
A country can’t send asylum seekers back to their home if it’s not safe for them.
After deciding, the government said it would ask for a formal agreement with Rwanda. It thought this would give better legal promises than the current deal they have.
A new agreement is almost finalized. It may involve British lawyers working in Rwandan courts to help with the Supreme Court’s worries, according to the media.
The Sunday Times said that the agreement would give Rwanda an extra £15m to hire more people to make its asylum processing system better and bigger.
The UK government has given £140m to Rwanda for the program. The first flight was supposed to happen in June 2022, but it was cancelled because of legal problems.
The Rwanda policy was made because many more people were coming to the UK illegally in small boats.
Legal migration
The government will also announce later how they plan to decrease the number of people coming to the country legally.
Backbenchers are asking ministers to do something because official numbers showed that last year 745,000 more people migrated than was thought.
Ministers are thinking about getting rid of the list of jobs where foreign workers can be hired for less pay than usual.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has said it may be a good idea to limit the number of people who can come to the UK with migrants.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s army said it would punish any soldier linked to the mainly Hutu rebel group linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The army said anyone – regardless of rank – who violates the ban on dealing with FDLR militias will be arrested.
The announcement follows US pressure on Congo and Rwanda to ease tensions between them.
Many believe that Rwanda formed the Tutsi-led M23 rebel group to fight the FDLR. Rwandan authorities have always denied accusations that they support this group.
The Prime Minister’s new plan for Rwanda means that no asylum seekers will be sent there before the next election, according to former Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
She wrote in the Telegraph that making small changes to a plan that didn’t work before won’t help the government reach its goals.
She said the leaders should not follow human rights laws at all to make it happen.
But former government minister Damian Green said this is the least conservative idea I’ve ever heard.
Mr Green, who used to work for Theresa May, said on BBC Radio 4 that going against the law is something only dictators like the leaders of China and Russia do.
The Supreme Court said the government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda may not be safe because they could be sent back to dangerous places.
After the court decision, Rishi Sunak said he will make a new law to say that Rwanda is a “safe” country.
The leader of the country said he will make a new agreement with Rwanda, so that the first flights can start in the spring.
An alternative
Mrs Braverman said a new treaty was unrealistic, using the same strong language as her angry letter to Mr. Sunak when he fired her.
She said the suggested agreement would not help with the main problem, which is that the UK’s top court said Rwanda is not safe for sending back people who are seeking asylum.
Mrs Braverman lost her job as home secretary on Monday. She said that unless the prime minister makes better plans, the government won’t be able to keep its promise in time.
She said that if there’s a new treaty, it would still need to go through the courts, which would probably take at least a year.
She said that the process “could end in another loss”.
“That’s why the Prime Minister’s plan won’t have flights to Rwanda before an election if Plan B is just a slightly changed version of the failed Plan A,” she said.
Mrs Braverman said the PM’s new law should not follow the Human Rights Act, the European Convention on Human Rights, or other international rules like the Refugee Convention. Caption for media.
Some of Mrs Braverman’s coworkers agree with her arguments.
Ex-cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke said that parliament has the right to reject certain parts of the law if it’s absolutely necessary.
He said it was not right that our rules about human rights were stopping the government from policing the UK’s borders.
Mr Sunak wants to use the Rwanda policy to stop people from crossing the English Channel in small boats. This is one of his main promises and it’s meant to make people think twice about making the dangerous journey.
Transport Minister Mark Harper told BBC Breakfast that the government is determined to make the Rwanda policy work by spring.
The new law will likely have a hard time getting approved by the House of Lords because it has many judges from the Supreme Court. It could also be possible to have legal problems in court.
‘White is the opposite of black. ‘
Mr David Normington, who used to work for the Home Office, said on the Today show that Mrs. Braverman was “correct in a way” when she said it would be very hard to come up with a good policy for Rwanda.
The courts have said that the country is not safe. You cannot say that black is white.
Sir David was asked if international law is old-fashioned. He said that international agreements were made to protect those who are easily harmed.
It’s not clear how Mrs. Braverman’s plan would work legally and quickly right away.
The UK and other countries in the European Convention on Human Rights can temporarily ignore some of its rules during a war or emergency. The main protection in the Rwanda case is that no one should be tortured or treated in a cruel way, and this right cannot be taken away, even in special circumstances.
In 2001, there was a new rule to keep al-Qaeda suspects in jail without any charges. But the courts said this was against the law.
While Boris Johnson was prime minister, the government suggested making changes to some human rights laws in a bill that was heavily criticized. However, Rishi Sunak later canceled the bill.
It’s not clear how Mrs. Braverman’s plan would work legally and fast.
The UK and other countries in Europe can choose to ignore certain parts of the European Convention on Human Rights in times of war or emergencies. The main protection in the Rwanda case is that no one should be tortured or treated in a cruel way, and this right cannot be taken away, even in extreme situations.
The UK has only not followed the rules of the ECHR eight times in 70 years. Seven times, paramilitaries were held during the fighting in Northern Ireland. In 2001, there was a controversy about keeping al-Qaeda suspects in custody without charging them. The courts later ruled that this was against the law.
While Boris Johnson was prime minister, the government suggested changing and reducing certain human rights protections in a new bill. But Rishi Sunak cancelled the bill after it received a lot of criticism.
Leaving the ECHR completely would break the Good Friday Agreement, which is important for peace in Northern Ireland, and make the UK’s partners in Europe very angry. This could make it harder for the UK to work with other countries to stop boats.
The Supreme Court of Britain overturned the contentious plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda on Wednesday, striking a possibly fatal blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s centre piece migration policy and paving the way for the extreme wing of his Conservative party to launch an expected uprising.
The highest court in the United Kingdom dismissed the government’s argument and upheld an earlier appeals court decision that declared the programme illegal, as it has been strongly denounced by humanitarian organisations.
It thwarts a plan to transport illegally arriving asylum seekers from the UK to the country in east Africa. Since its initial announcement in April 2022, the plan has faced numerous court challenges and has not succeeded in deporting any individuals.
The Conservative Party’s right is predicted to demand that Britain withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), a move that has been hanging over the government for months and deepened divisions between moderates and populists inside the party’s coalition.
In an unprecedented move, Rwanda has extended visa-free travel privileges to Ghanaians and all other African nationals. The transformative policy was announced by Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Thursday, November 2, in Kigali, signaling a new era of interconnectedness for the continent.
President Kagame, speaking at the 23rd Global Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council, underscored Africa’s untapped tourism potential and the need for unity, stating, “Any African can get on a plane to Rwanda whenever they wish, and they will not pay a thing to enter our country.”
He stressed the importance of harnessing the African market for tourism, a sector dominated by non-African tourists, as 60% of visitors to the continent come from abroad, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
This policy positions Rwanda as an advocate for the African Union’s vision of a borderless continent, much like the European Union’s Schengen zone.
Rwanda now joins a select group of African countries, including Gambia, Benin, and Seychelles, that have removed visa requirements for African travelers.
The momentum for a more integrated Africa gained further support when Kenya’s President William Ruto announced plans to introduce visa-free travel for all Africans to Kenya by the end of the year.
President Ruto highlighted the counterproductive nature of visa restrictions at an international summit in Congo Brazzaville, stating, “Visa restrictions amongst ourselves are working against us. When people cannot travel, business people cannot travel, entrepreneurs cannot travel, we all become net losers.”
This initiative follows the African Union’s 2016 launch of the African passport, a landmark project aimed at mirroring the European passport system and unleashing the continent’s potential. Despite the excitement, the African passport remains exclusive to diplomats and AU officials.
The African Union advocates for the African Passport and free movement of people as key steps towards eliminating travel restrictions for Africans within their own continent.
Additionally, the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area—a free trade zone with a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion—aims to create a unified market for Africa’s 1.3 billion inhabitants, promoting economic growth and integration.
This latest development with Rwanda’s visa-free policy not only enhances tourism but also fosters economic collaboration, cultural exchange, and political solidarity across Africa.
Rwanda has declared that citizens of other African nations would be able to enter the East African nation without a visa.
The most recent nation on the continent to enact a law aimed at promoting human freedom of movement is Rwanda.
At the World Travel and Tourism Council’s 23rd Global Summit, President Paul Kagame made the announcement.
Despite Africa’s reliance on foreign tourists which is manifested by 60% of its tourist being foreigners, Paul Kagame, at the event, pitched Africa’s potential as “a unified tourism destination”.
“Any African, can get on a plane to Rwanda whenever they wish and they will not pay a thing to enter our country.”
“We should not lose sight of our own continental market. Africans are the future of global tourism as our middle class continues to grow at a fast pace in the decades to come,” he added.
Starting November 2023, Ghanaians will enjoy visa-free travel to South Africa, enabling citizens of both nations to visit each other without the requirement of a visa for stays up to 90 days.
Additionally, Kenya has revealed its intentions to facilitate the unrestricted entry of Africans into the country.
Upon implementation, Rwanda will become the fourth African country to eliminate travel restrictions for its citizens. The Gambia, Benin, and Seychelles have already exempted African citizens from visa requirements.
In 2016, the African Union introduced the African passport with the goal of unleashing the continent’s potential, mirroring the European Union’s model.
The African Passport and the concept of free movement for people aim to eliminate constraints on Africans’ ability to travel, work, and reside within their own continent, according to the AU’s website.
It’s worth noting that, until now, the travel document had only been issued to diplomats and AU officials.
Ghanaians interested in visiting Rwanda can now do so without having to worry about the struggles in acquiring a visa.
This is now so because Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, on Thursday, November 2, unveiled a new policy allowing visa-free travel to the country for Africans.
The President made this announcement in Kigali, emphasizing the potential for Africa to become a unified tourism destination. Currently, Africa relies on 60% of its tourists from outside the continent, as reported by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
“Any African, can get on a plane to Rwanda whenever they wish and they will not pay a thing to enter our country” said Kagame during the 23rd Global Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council.
“We should not lose sight of our own continental market,” he said. “Africans are the future of global tourism as our middle class continues to grow at a fast pace in the decades to come.”
This move positions Rwanda as the latest African nation to adopt such measures, with the goal of promoting the free movement of people and trade, in a bid to rival Europe’s Schengen zone.
Upon implementation, Rwanda will join the ranks of African countries that have lifted travel restrictions for Africans. Currently, Gambia, Benin, and Seychelles have already waived visas for African nationals. In addition, Kenya’s President William Ruto recently revealed plans to enable visa-free travel for all Africans to Kenya by December 31.
“Visa restrictions amongst ourselves is working against us. When people cannot travel, business people cannot travel, entrepreneurs cannot travel we all become net losers” said Ruto at an international summit in Congo Brazzaville.
In 2016, the African Union launched the African passport with considerable enthusiasm, aiming to create a travel document that would parallel the European Union model and unlock the continent’s potential. Nevertheless, thus far, only diplomats and AU officials have received this travel document.
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda on Thursday, unveiled a new policy allowing visa-free travel to Rwanda for Africans.
This move positions Rwanda as the latest African nation to adopt such measures, with the goal of promoting the free movement of people and trade, in a bid to rival Europe’s Schengen zone.
The President made this announcement in Kigali, emphasizing the potential for Africa to become a unified tourism destination. Currently, Africa relies on 60% of its tourists from outside the continent, as reported by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
“Any African, can get on a plane to Rwanda whenever they wish and they will not pay a thing to enter our country,” said Kagame during the 23rd Global Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council.
“We should not lose sight of our own continental market,” he said. “Africans are the future of global tourism as our middle class continues to grow at a fast pace in the decades to come.”
Upon implementation, Rwanda will join the ranks of African countries that have lifted travel restrictions for Africans. Currently, Gambia, Benin, and Seychelles have already waived visas for African nationals. In addition, Kenya’s President William Ruto recently revealed plans to enable visa-free travel for all Africans to Kenya by December 31.
“Visa restrictions amongst ourselves is working against us. When people cannot travel, business people cannot travel, entrepreneurs cannot travel we all become net losers” said Ruto at an international summit in Congo Brazzaville.
In 2016, the African Union launched the African passport with considerable enthusiasm, aiming to create a travel document that would parallel the European Union model and unlock the continent’s potential. Nevertheless, thus far, only diplomats and AU officials have received this travel document.
The Rwanda government has provided help to the people in Gaza who are in need.
The government sent a donation to a charity organization called JHCO in Jordan. It has already reached the capital city, Amman.
Mr Mukuralinda said that it was made to help with the international rescue effort.
The donation includes 16 tons of food, medicines, and medical supplies. Rwanda also emphasizes the importance of reducing tension to keep innocent people safe.
Rwanda is a country in Africa that is closely connected to Israel. The leader of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, went to Rwanda in 2016.
Both countries have similar tragic events related to the killing of their own people, said Mr. Netanyahu in the visitor’s book after visiting a memorial for the victims of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.
More than 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, were killed in 1994. During the Second World War, six million Jewish people were killed in a tragic event called the Holocaust.
The Black Queens of Ghana delivered an outstanding performance in the second leg of the 2024Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) qualifiers, defeating the She Amavubis of Rwanda 5-0 at the Accra Sports Stadium on Tuesday, September 26.
Under the guidance of Coach Nora Hauptile, Ghana’s team had previously dominated the first leg in Kigali on Wednesday, September 20, with an impressive 7-0 victory, rendering the second leg a mere formality.
During the first 45 minutes of the game, the Black Queens maintained control and managed to score four goals. Alice Kusi was the standout player, netting a remarkable hat-trick, while Evelyn Badu added another goal to the tally.
As the second half began, Ghana continued their dominance, with Stella Nyamekeye scoring an additional goal.
This convincing 5-0 win resulted in a commanding 12-0 aggregate score in favour of Ghana, securing their place in the final qualifying round as they prepare to face Namibia.
Nora Hauptle, the head coach of the Black Queens, has shed light on her team’s remarkable performance since assuming her role.
During her tenure as the Swiss tactician, the Ghana senior women’s national team has maintained an impressive unbeaten streak of six games, scoring over 20 goals during this period.
In their recent encounter, Coach Nora Hauptle led the Black Queens to a resounding 7-0 victory over Rwanda in the qualifiers for the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
Looking ahead to the reverse fixture, Coach Nora Hauptle attributed the team’s success to their unwavering dedication and hard work.
“I can say the secret behind the gradual improvement of the team is putting in lot of work but I need to congratulate the players for taking the right decisions on the pitch,” Coach Nora Hauptle said.
She continued, “I have a great staff with professional analysis of the game with individual talks as well. We are proud that we scored so many goals and even more proud to have clean sheets. Our game plan worked and the players transmitted it very well.”
The Accra Sports Stadium is set to host the clash between Ghana’s Black Queens and Rwanda on Tuesday, September 26, with the game scheduled to commence at 4 pm.
The final resting place of the over 800,000 individuals who tragically lost their lives in the 1994 Rwanda genocide has been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list, marking a significant development as the United Nations cultural body lifts its moratorium on considering memorial sites associated with human suffering.
UNESCO officially confirmed the inclusion of the sites at Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi, and Bisesero in Rwanda, which serve as poignant commemorations of the mass killings, primarily of Tutsi victims, during the period of April to July 1994. The genocide also claimed the lives of moderate Hutus who were subjected to brutal violence, including shootings, beatings, and machete attacks, at the hands of Hutu rebels.
This recognition underscores the importance of preserving and acknowledging the historical and cultural significance of these sites, ensuring that the memory of the tragic events that unfolded during the genocide is perpetuated for future generations.
“This historic decision will help safeguard memory, counter denial, and strengthen genocide prevention efforts globally. #NeverAgain,” Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“This will make the genocide that was committed in Rwanda against the Tutsi more known across the world,” he told AFP news agency in Kigali.
The list of new additions also encompassed the World War I cemeteries situated in Belgium and France, in addition to a former torture facility in Argentina.
Up until now, the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in Japan were the sole memorial sites to have earned a place on the prestigious World Heritage list maintained by the United Nations’ cultural agency.
During a gathering of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a consensus among UNESCO member states was reached to include the Rwanda genocide and World War I sites in the list, following the addition of the Argentina torture memorial on the previous day.
Back in 2018, during a UNESCO meeting, the agency refrained from adding memorial sites to the list, pondering whether the heritage list was an appropriate tool for recognizing sites associated with atrocities and conflicts.
However, early in 2023, member states came to an agreement that these sites hold significant potential in contributing to peacebuilding, which aligns with UNESCO’s primary mission. Consequently, the committee resolved to consider the nominations of these three sites.
The police found out about the crime at the beginning of this month. This happened after he was forced to leave his rented place in Kicukiro, a neighborhood near the capital city, Kigali.
In a crowded courtroom, a woman shouted for her child who she claimed was hurt, after hearing the guilty plea.
This meeting was held to decide if Mr Kazungu should stay in jail. The judge will make a decision on September 26th.
Mr Kazungu, who did not have a lawyer, appeared calm and composed at the hearing. When he was asked if he was guilty, he confidently replied “yes”.
We don’t know for sure about Mr. Kazungu’s mental health, but he seemed fine when he asked the court to have a private session. However, the court said no to his request.
Mr Kazungu was taken into custody because his landlord told the police that he hadn’t paid his rent for seven months.
A police officer told a newspaper in Rwanda called The New Times that he resisted when they removed him from a place.
“The official said that he showed remorse and cried a lot, which made us start to wonder. ”
We stopped him and I personally brought him to the police. He confessed to killing some people at the police station. This made the Rwanda Investigation Bureau investigate his home.
A spokesperson for Rib said that he tricked his victims, who were mostly sex workers, into coming to his house and then he would steal from them. Afterwards, he killed them by choking them and then put their bodies in a hole that he dug in the kitchen of the house he was renting.
The investigators have not yet said who all the people that Mr. Kazungu is suspected of harming are.
Rwanda’s leader, Paul Kagame, has said he will try to become president for a fourth time next year, which could mean he stays in power for almost thirty years.
“I feel pleased that Rwandans trust and believe in me,” President Kagame said in an interview with Jeune Afrique magazine on Tuesday.
He has been criticized by rights groups for being hard on the opposition.
But the president said he didn’t care about what people from outside thought.
Mr Kagame was elected as the President in 2017 by almost 99% of the people who voted. An organization called Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that the vote happened when people didn’t have much freedom to express their opinions.
The president said in a magazine interview that he would continue to be their leader for as long as the people of Rwanda wanted him to and as long as he could help them.
He had hinted before that he might run for president again, but this is the first time he clearly said that he will definitely be running in next year’s election, which is set to take place in August.
The 65-year old person has been the most powerful leader in Rwanda ever since his rebel group, the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), took control after the genocide ended.
However, he didn’t become president until 2000 after Pasteur Bizimungu resigned.
In 2003, Rwanda made a new set of rules called a constitution. This constitution said that the president could be in office for seven years, and after that, they could be chosen again for another term.
But this was changed in a vote in 2015 that caused disagreement.
The changes, which were agreed upon by 98% of the people who voted, allowed the president to be in office for a third time for seven years. After that, the president could then serve two more times, each lasting five years, starting in 2024.
When asked about what the Western countries would think of his decision to run again, Mr. Kagame said that their opinions are not something that concerns us.
Personally, I am no longer sure about what matches with Western values. What is democracy. Is it the West telling others what to do. But if they don’t follow their own rules, should we still listen to them. ” President Kagame asked.
Trying to force democracy on someone else is a contradiction to democracy. He said that individuals should be able to do things on their own and choose how they want to arrange themselves.
Many well-known people who disagree with the current government have been hurt or even died while living in another country.
The Rwandan government has consistently said they were not involved in the killings. However, in 2014, Mr. Kagame cautioned that anyone who acts against the country will face punishment.
In the past, he strongly supported and protected Rwanda’s reputation for respecting human rights and allowing people to have political freedom.
