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Rwanda has agreed to accept up to 250 migrants from the US under a deal agreed with the Trump administration.
Rwanda appears to good in the act of accepting refugees and migrants. Apart from the futile agreement with the UK, it has settlement agreements with several European countries, including Sweden, France, Belgium, Finland, and the Netherlands. The European Union as a whole also provides support for people in need of international protection in Rwanda.
The Guardian reports that the Trump administration’s deportation drive has included negotiating arrangements to send people to third countries.
Spokesperson for the Rwandan government Yolande Makolo told AFP that, “Rwanda has agreed with the United States to accept up to 250 migrants
Makolo also said the government agreed to the scheme because, “nearly every Rwandan family has experienced hardships of displacement.”
Those who arrive in Rwanda will be given training, healthcare, and accommodation, she said.
There was no information about the timeline. But Makolo said, Rwanda “will provide more details once these have been worked out.”
Trump has taken a number of actions aimed at speeding up deportation of undocumented migrants to countries that are not their own. His administration has defended third-country deportations as necessary since the home nations of some of those targeted for removal sometimes refuse to accept them.
However, rights experts have warned that the deportations risk breaking international law by sending people to countries where they face the risk of torture, abduction and other abuses.
Rwanda is in Africa’s Great Lakes region and is home to 13 million people. Although its government claims it is one of the most stable countries in Africa and it has drawn praise for its modern infrastructure, the migrant agreement with the UK drew criticism from rights groups and faced a long-running legal challenge.
Apart from President Paul Kagame been frequently accused of rampant human rights violations and crushing political dissent and press freedoms, it has also come under pressure over its role in the violence going on in the east of neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
