‘EU hypocrisy over UK Rwanda plan’ - Campaign for an Independent Britain

The double-standard is breath-taking

Did you know that since 2019, in the days before Covid and the first migrant Channel crossings, the EU has been funding UNHCR illegal migrant flights to Rwanda?

Furthermore, they have even agreed to extend the funding programme to 2026. From which one can only conclude that both the EU and the UNHCR, along with the African Union deem Rwanda a safe country.

As you would expect, the EU has done its best to conceal this inconvenient truth from its supporters. Undeterred, our research-based affiliate went onto the African Union website where the information is readily available.

All of which raises the fundamental point: if Rwanda is regarded as a safe country for refugees by the EU, why is it deemed unsafe when it comes to the UK?

The following two-part summary highlights both the extent of EU-UNHCR co-operation in relation to the Rwanda scheme and their duplicity towards the United Kingdom over precisely the same issue.

The two reports can be read in full in the links beneath the summary.

Part One

How the EU has funded the UNHCR transfer of migrants in Africa

Over 5,000 migrants have been flown by the UN, using EU funds, to Rwanda and Niger
So far, over 1,500 have been sent to Rwanda
The United Kingdom hasn’t been able to send a single illegal migrant to Rwanda, thanks to the ECHR, the UN Conventions, and UK human rights legislation
The EU part-funded this using its ‘Emergency Trust Fund for Africa’
EU funding so far amounts to €77m (pprox. £67m)
The latest EU extension covers the period up until the end of 2026

[Sources: UNHCR, EU Commission, African Union.]

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Official EU endorsement:

Not only has the EU tolerated the policy, it has actively endorsed it.

“This project will support efforts of the Government of Rwanda to receive and provide protection to about 1,500 refugees and asylum-seekers who are currently being held in detention centres in Libya. Such a remarkable and powerful proof of African solidarity should be further encouraged, replicated and supported.”

– Neven Mimica, EU Commissioner for International Development and Cooperation,
speaking on 19 November 2019

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Part Two

Duplicity of the UNHCR

On the EU-Rwanda Refugee policy

“The European Union has announced a €22 million support package to the Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM) in Rwanda operated by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Government of Rwanda.

“The ETM provides a life-saving channel to evacuate refugees and asylum seekers in need of international protection from Libya to Rwanda.”

On its contradictory evidence to British Courts

“UNHCR considers that the UK-Rwanda arrangement contravenes the UK’s international obligations and fails to meet the required standards relating to the legality and appropriateness of transfers of asylum-seekers. We continue to urge the Government of the United Kingdom to instead pursue other measures, including cooperation with the UK’s European neighbours and fair and fast asylum procedures, that would be more humane, efficient, and cost-effective.”

– UNHCR press release, 19 December 2022

We are indebted to our affiliate Brexit Facts4EU.Org for bringing this matter to our readers’ attention. The double-standard is clear for all to see, and we do not hesitate to call it out.

To read the two reports in full, please click on the links below.

EU has been funding UNHCR illegal migrant flights to Rwanda for 4 years

Rwanda is a safe country after all, says EU, UNHCR, and African Union

CIBUK thanks its Affiliated Organisation Brexit Facts4EU.Org for permission to republish these articles.