BBC Great Lakes

Getting people to speak on the record in Rwanda on government policies can be hard, as many fear a possible backlash.

But a political analyst based in Rwanda who spoke on condition of anonymity to the BBC’s Great Lakes service - which broadcasts to people in Rwanda and Burundi - has questioned the new asylum treaty with the UK. They wonder why Rwanda’s government seems to agree “to sign up for everything” from the UK on this matter.

“Yes, the UK has been funding development projects in Rwanda, and the authorities here might have close ties with those in London. But this kind of treaty now makes Rwanda look like it has no say in the wording,” the analyst said.

The UK government’s Rwanda policy has been a huge matter of debate in the UK, but that hasn’t been the case in Rwanda, the analyst says.

The government in Kigali is “usually and unfortunately” left unchallenged at home on many policies, they add.

“There are no clear explanations on why our government just wants to sign up for everything the UK is bringing in," the analyst says. "I suspect that it is beyond just helping to solve the global migrant crisis that they tell us about.

“If this partnership was criticised by the UN, refugees’ rights activists - so many people out there - what is in there that our government is pursuing that they don’t tell us?”

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, PA Media

• Home Secretary James Cleverly is in Rwanda to sign a new treaty about the UK's plan to send asylum seekers there
• Last month, the UK Supreme Court ruled the scheme unlawful - the treaty, and emergency legislation to be introduced in the UK soon, are part of the government’s plan to change that
• The court said there was a risk asylum seekers could be sent from Rwanda back to their home countries - a prcoess known as refoulement that's banned by international law

• Immigration minister Robert Jenrick says the government's changes will end the “legal merry-go-round”
• The BBC has been told that the new deal could see British lawyers stationed in Rwandan courts

Chris Mason
Political editor, reporting from Rwanda

Hello from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kigali.

Reporters are filling up the room and the stage is set.

In a bit we will have the signing ceremony for the UK-Rwanda treaty — the British government’s latest attempt to get its plan to send some migrants here operational.

As we've reported, we're expecting to hear soon from UK Home Secretary James Cleverly in Kigali.

Earlier, he visited a memorial to the Rwandan genocide. Here are some images from that visit.

If you want to learn more about the Rwandan genocide, the BBC has written about what happened over those 100 days in 1994, when about 800,000 people were killed.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

The government is pursuing a treaty with Rwanda, and planning to introduce emergency legislation in the UK soon after, because the initial scheme to deport asylum seekers was ruled unlawful by the courts.

Here's a quick rundown:

• November 2023 saw the final court battle, after several, take place in the Supreme Court
• The Supreme Court passed a judgement that upheld previous court rulings that the Rwanda policy was unlawful
• Because the Supreme Court is the highest court in the UK, the judgement meant there was no way the Rwanda plan could go ahead without the government making major changes, which we are seeing today

• The judges said there were "substantial grounds" to believe people deported to Rwanda could then be sent, by the Rwandan government, to places where they would be unsafe

• The judgement said there was doubt over its "practical ability to fulfil its assurances, at least in the short term", to fix "deficiencies" in its asylum system and see through "the scale of the changes in procedure, understanding and culture which are required"

As we've been reporting, Home Secretary James Cleverly is in Rwanda to sign a new treaty on the government's asylum plan. Here's a reminder of that plan:

It was a five-year trial policy that would see some asylum seekers to the UK sent to Rwanda on a one-way ticket.

The government said they would be able to claim asylum there, and could be granted refugee status. If not, they could apply to settle on other grounds, return home, or seek asylum in a "safe third country".

When the plan was initially announced in April 2022, the government said "anyone entering the UK illegally", external could be sent there, with no limit on numbers. The government said it believed it would deter people arriving in the UK through "illegal, dangerous or unnecessary methods" - i.e. small boats which cross the English Channel.

The UK had struck an agreement with Rwanda, external, including £120m of funding, under which people flown there would be given accommodation and support while their claims were processed. They would then receive a five-year "package of training and support" if granted refugee status.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in November, the government said it would seek a formal treaty with Rwanda, a move it believed would provide stronger legal guarantees than its current bilateral agreement.

Due to some technical difficulties, we've not been able to post for the last hour - apologies.

We're back up and running now, and will continue to bring you the latest updates on Home Secretary James Cleverly's trip to Rwanda - including his press conference at 13:30 GMT.

Stay with us.

Mayeni Jones
Reporting from Kigali

Image source, Getty Images

In Kigali, the capital, it’s a busy work day. This is one of Africa’s most popular cities for international conferences and on our way in this morning, we saw big groups of foreign visitors arriving.

This is the image Rwanda is keen to project to the world: that of a modern, thriving African country, one of the continent’s fastest growing economies.

But the opposition stresses that this is still a developing country, and should be taking care of its own citizens before welcoming newcomers.

Rights groups have also raised concerns about the country’s human rights record, saying arbitrary detentions and curbs on freedom of speech are commonplace.

They’ve also questioned whether asylum seekers would get a fair chance here, arguing they could be sent back to their home countries where they may face danger.

The Rwandan government has rejected this, saying the country is perfectly safe. But last month’s UK Supreme Court judgement suggests they have some more convincing to do.

Pete Saull
Political Correspondent, BBC Westminster

Fresh from announcing a five-point plan to cut the number of people coming to the UK legally, James Cleverly has turned his attention to what the government calls illegal migration.

He's the third home secretary to travel to Rwanda in recent years - but as yet, no migrants have made the same trip.

When the Supreme Court justices delivered their ruling, they said there were “substantial grounds” for believing that asylum seekers could be sent on from Rwanda to their countries of origin, where they might be unsafe.

The Home Office says the new deal includes assurances from the Rwandan authorities that they will not remove anyone who arrives from Britain.

Cleverly will hope that a beefed-up agreement is enough to finally get the courts onside.

He's expected in the Commons tomorrow to start the process of putting the treaty into law.

Chris Mason
Political editor, reporting from Kigali

The home secretary has just left the Kigali Genocide Memorial.

He added a handwritten reflection on his visit just before he left.

"Thank you for helping me see the pain you went through, but also the commitment to peace that you have chosen to make," the note reads.

"We must never forget, but must learn, grow, and work to a better future," it says.

There are two key immigration stories in the headlines this morning - the Rwanda plan, which we've been discussing here, and the government's efforts to cut net legal migration, as announced yesterday.

The changes announced by Cleverly yesterday included hiking the minimum salary needed for skilled overseas workers from £26,200 to £38,700.

The government also said it would:

• Ban care workers from other countries bringing family dependants to the UK
• End companies being able to pay workers 20% less than the going rate for jobs on a shortage occupation list
• Increase the annual charge foreign workers pay to use the NHS from £624 to £1,035
• Raise the minimum income for family visas to £38,700, from £18,600 from next spring
• Ask the government's migration adviser to review the graduate visa route to "prevent abuse"

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick earlier told the BBC that leaving the EU allowed the government could bring these changes in.

"We are able to respond to trends where we see abuse to root it out, where we see things that might be perfectly legal but are leading to perverse outcomes to change the rules," Jenrick said.

• You can read more about yesterday's announcements here

Chris Mason
Political editor, reporting from Kigali

Image source, PA Media

Hello from Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

I am here as what is known as the pool broadcast reporter - so gathering material not just for the BBC but on this trip for ITN and Sky News as well.

James Cleverly, the home secretary, is currently at a memorial to the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s, a desperately bleak chapter in this country’s recent history.

Horrific violence broke out. I am reading as we walk round the museum that according to a survey by Unicef, around 80% of Rwandan children experienced a death in the family in 1994, 70% witnessed someone being killed or injured and 90% believed they would die.

• Read more about the genocide here

We've just recently received these pictures of the home secretary's arrival in Kigali earlier.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

The immigration minister has also spoken to BBC Radio 4's Today programme about the government's plan for a treaty with Rwanda - which he says will allows for a "substantially different and stronger arrangement" with its partner.

He said it will allow the parliament to deem Rwanda a safe third country.

The emergency legislation that will be introduced to Parliament following the signing of the treaty is "designed to end the merry-go-round of legal issues on this issue once and for all", Robert Jenrick says.

Asked whether that could involve an effort to leave the European Convention of Human Rights, Jenrick refused to be drawn on details. "I'm not going to do into the specifics of the treaty and the legislation," he said.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper says the continued pursuit of the Rwanda plan is reflective of the government's "chaotic approach" to migration.

"[Cleverly] has gone with another chequebook to try and continue to pursue a failing policy which is still only likely to ever affect a few hundred people," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"Whilst over 1,000 people arrived on small boats over the last week as they are failing to tackle criminal gangs."

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

The government will imminently unveil "strong" emergency legislation designed to overcome the Supreme Court's objections to the Rwanda asylum policy, the immigration minister has said.

Robert Jenrick said new legislation would be presented to Parliament "shortly" after James Cleverly, the home secretary, signs a treaty with Rwanda today.

Jenrick told BBC Breakfast: "We want to get the Rwanda scheme up and running as soon as possible.

"Unfortunately it's been locked in the courts up to now but the treaty we are about to sign will create a fundamentally stronger relationship with Rwanda which answers the concerns of the Supreme Court about the scheme.

"That, coupled with a strong piece of emergency legislation that we'll be bringing forward to Parliament shortly will, I hope, get the scheme up and running."

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick says it's his belief that getting the Rwanda scheme across the line will act as a "strong deterrent" to asylum seekers looking to cross the Channel in small boats.

"I believe illegal migration is doing damage to this country and we need to take the most robust approach possible," he says.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Jenrick says the upcoming treaty with Rwanda would answer the concerns from the Supreme Court.

His boss, Home Secretary James Cleverly, is in the east African country now to sign that treaty - we've heard in the last several minutes that he's landed.

Robert Jenrick is now speaking to our TV colleagues - stay with us for his key lines.

Image source, PA Media

Here's a look back at the timeline of the government's Rwanda plan so far:

• April 2022: The UK government announces plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda
• June 2022: The first flight carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda is cancelled minutes before take-off after an intervention from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
• December 2022: The High Court rules that the scheme is lawful - but says the cases of eight asylum seekers on board the June flight had not been "properly considered"
• January 2023: Migrants facing potential removal to Rwanda win permission to challenge the policy in the Court of Appeal
• 29 June 2023: Court of Appeal rules the entire scheme is unlawful
• October 2023: Supreme Court begins three days of hearings, following an appeal from the government
• 15 November 2023: The Supreme Court rules that the government’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda is unlawful and the PM says the government will introduce emergency legislation to confirm that Rwanda is safe

Chris Mason
Political editor

James Cleverly is the third home secretary to roll up in Rwanda.

Home secretaries 3, migrants 0 on that score.

Priti Patel, the original author of the idea, did the trip. So too did Suella Braverman.

Now the turn of Cleverly.

It was April of last year when Priti Patel headed to east Africa to make the case that the UK needed a new tool to drive down illegal immigration: the prospect of migrants being sent to Rwanda.

But here we are in the final month of 2023, and the policy isn't off the ground, even if plenty of airliners with politicians on have been.

This time the plan gets the fountain pen and cartridge paper treatment - a treaty, an agreement between two countries recognised internationally.

It is the latest attempt to shove the whole idea into a place where it actually works and escapes the crippling judgements of an array of courts.

Let's see if it is any more successful than everything else that has been tried.

• Read more from Chris here