Rwanda: UK asylum plan is not immoral

Rwanda has said the deal to relocate asylum seekers from the UK to the East African country is neither immoral nor a punishment.

Critics have condemned the new policy as immoral and shameful.

Responding to a global outcry about the deal, Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said it needed to be given a chance as a solution to illegal migration.

“Africa is not a place of problems, it’s also a place of solutions,” she told journalists at a press conference in the capital, Kigali.

The first group of asylum seekers is expected to arrive in Kigali on Wednesday morning if the plan goes ahead.

Ms Makolo confirmed to the BBC that no international organisations were involved at the moment.

But speaking to the BBC’s Focus on Africa radio programme she said that she was “proud that Rwanda was providing a safe haven for people who need it”.

The asylum seekers are welcome to apply for residency in Rwanda and to be integrated into the local community.

They could also be repatriated to their countries of origin if they prefer.

The third option is to relocate them to third countries.

However, Ms Makolo said this option would not be initiated by the government, but if any asylum seekers was accepted to a country other than Rwanda or their country of origin, they would be helped to leave Rwanda.