Botswana’s foreign minister said the country had been approached by the UK to take in some of the so-called “unwanted migrants”, but the country had rejected the request.
Lemogang Kwape’s comments in a telephone interview with South African television station Newsroom Africa on Tuesday came as Britain’s parliament finally passed legislation allowing controversial plans to send some migrants to Rwanda to go ahead. It came out a few hours later. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the first flights to Rwanda in East Africa would depart in July.
UK plans to send migrants to Rwanda criticized by human rights groups after parliament backs new law
Kwape did not say when Britain approached the southern African country of Botswana. After signing a controversial agreement with Rwanda in April 2022, British media reported that the British government had held talks with four countries – Armenia, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast and Botswana – over replicating the Rwanda plan.
This photo provided by the Nord-et-la-Manche Maritime Prefecture shows migrants continuing their journey to the UK off the northern coast of France on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Five people, including a child, died trying to cross the English Channel from France. Just hours after the British government approved an immigration bill that would deport some illegal immigrants to Rwanda, French authorities announced on Tuesday that some illegal immigrants had entered the UK illegally. (North Nord-et-de-la-Manche Maritime Department, via AP)
“I can certainly confirm that the British government, through the Foreign Secretary and the African Affairs Minister, approached Botswana through diplomatic channels to accept illegal migrants bound for the UK, but we did not respond to their requests,” Kwape said. He spoke to Newsroom Africa. .
“We have enough issues to deal with, especially immigration in our neighborhoods,” he said. “So I think it would be unfair to Botswana to accept unwanted immigrants from other countries while we deal with our own problems in the region.”
Kwape said British authorities had mentioned migrants from Afghanistan as part of the proposed migration to Botswana, but only that country was mentioned.
“They weren’t that blatant,” Kwape said.
Mr Sunak’s plan to stem the flow of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats to seek asylum in the UK has been beset by legal battles and legislative delays, and has been heavily criticized by human rights groups.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The deal would see migrants arriving in the UK as stowaways or sent by boat to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be processed. If successful, they will remain in Rwanda.
The British government has already paid Rwanda at least $298 million for asylum schemes, although no migrants have yet been expelled.
