Details have emerged that the UK’s own Foreign Office has been pushing for Rwanda to be removed from a list of countries outsourced to process asylum seekers deported from the UK.
According to a report by the Telegraph, quoting leaked government documents, “the Foreign Office sought to have Rwanda removed from a list of countries identified for “offshore” processing of asylum seekers deported from the UK, warning also it could anger Commonwealth partners.”
According to this British outlet, “Civil servants warned that any scheme could result in “potentially significant” challenges under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and raised questions over the legality of the plans.”
The report further details that civil servants raised concerns that sending asylum seekers to Rwanda could anger Commonwealth partners.
The leaked document, according to the Telegraph, was put together ahead of the announcement of the Rwanda scheme in 2022 and the current Prime Minister was then Chancellor.
It reveals the Government was considering nine countries for partnership deals to take migrants deported from the UK with their asylum claims processed offshore.
Officials at the Foreign Office, then headed by Dominic Raab, had been asked to submit the department’s views on the suitability of each country to receive migrants to have their asylum claims processed.
The Foreign Office advocated “removing” Rwanda from consideration for the scheme altogether.
Other countries considered for “partnership” deals to take deported migrants included Angola, Georgia, Kenya, Morocco and Tunisia.
However, the Foreign Office advised against all five because of their poor track record in dealing with refugees, which would pose “significant” legal challenges.
Foreign Office officials said there would be “political” issues over Albania and North Macedonia because their governments would fear a public backlash if they were seen to be processing migrants from other countries.
There were also concerns about migrants being able to leave the countries because of weaker border security.
The Foreign Office also “strongly” advised against approaching Georgia and Moldova for a partnership arrangement “given the potential for Russian interference”.