Suella Braverman, the UK’s home secretary, arrived in Rwanda on Saturday for a visit aimed at bolstering the government’s commitment to the controversial deal with Kigali to deport some asylum seekers to the African country.
She toured a construction training academy in Kigali, the capital, where she met with graduates of a training course that will be offered to refugees.
Braverman said the UK government was “ecstatic” about the agreement with Rwanda, which she said would result in “creating a vibrant community here, to be a positive, prosperous, beautiful haven, and home for many thousands of people.”
Under the plan, some of those who arrive in Britain in small boats will be flown to Rwanda, where their asylum claims will be processed. Those granted asylum will stay in the African country rather than return to the UK.
Human rights organizations cite Rwanda’s poor human rights record and argue that it is inhuman to send people to a country more than 6,400 kilometers away that they do not want to live in.