Britain and Rwanda signed a new agreement on Tuesday in a bid to revive the conflict the controversial proposal London to expel migrants to this African country, three weeks after rejecting the previous project.

The British government is trying to salvage a symbolic measure of its policy against illegal immigration, following the UK Supreme Court censored the first project in mid-November.

The new agreement was signed by Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta and British Home Secretary James Cleverly in Kigali.

“We have pursued this partnership with the UK because we believe that we have a role to play in this illegal immigration crisis,” Biruta said at a press conference, where Cleverly said he felt “enormous admiration for the Rwandan government, which has received a lot of criticism”.

Security “guarantees” stand out

The new agreement “will respond to the concerns of the Supreme Court by guaranteeing, in particular, that Rwanda will not expel people transferred to other countries within the framework of the association,” previously indicated in a statement by the Ministry of Interior, in response. became one of the main concerns of British judges.

The 43-page text is “legally binding” in international law and offer a guarantee that migrants expelled to Rwanda “cannot be expelled to another country where their life or freedom is threatened”, according to the UK Home Office.

The new agreement includes the establishment of “a joint court with Rwandan and British judges in Kigali to guarantee the safety of migrants and that no migrants sent to Rwanda are expelled to their country,” the deputy spokesman said at a press conference. Rwandan government, Alain Mukuralinda. “And he will also make sure to listen to all the migrants’ complaints,” he continued.

Once signed, the text must be ratified by the British and Rwandan parliaments.

EL(afp, efe)