The British government had scouted Gaborone to try to replicate the agreement reached with Rwanda
Botswana's Foreign Minister, Lemogang Kwabe, confirmed that the UK government has contacted the country's authorities to see if they are prepared to receive migrants deported by London, in a model similar to the one agreed with Rwanda, which Britain agreed to on Tuesday. Parliament amid criticism from the international community.
“I can confirm that the British government (…) has contacted Botswana through diplomatic channels to receive illegal immigrants arriving in the United Kingdom, but we have not accepted their request,” Kwabe said in an interview with South African television channel Newsroom. Africa.
“Botswana has always been a refuge for people fleeing persecution, like in South Africa (during apartheid),” he explained, although he said the country “has enough problems to face, including migration in our region.”
Hence, he said, “receiving migrants from other countries while we face our own problems in the region would be unfair to Botswana.” “Botswana is in a position where it cannot accept illegal immigrants from third countries while facing its own migration problems in the region,” he added.
In this sense, he stated that the British authorities “were not very frank” when it came to detailing the origin of immigrants who could be deported, although he noted that they “mentioned Afghan citizens.” “I wouldn't go so far as to say there was racial profiling,” said Kwabe, who declined to comment on potential benefits offered, as the case had not been heard.
The Botswana Foreign Minister's words follow reports in the British press about the British government's efforts to replicate its program to deport migrants to Rwanda with other countries, including Botswana, Armenia, Ivory Coast and Costa Rica.
In December 2023, the United Kingdom and Rwanda signed a treaty through which British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hopes to dispel the doubts that prompted the British Supreme Court to overturn the previous deportation plan, one of the Conservative Party’s great promises to combat increased migration and deter arrivals across the English Channel.
After the British Parliament approved the plan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, warned of the “harmful impact” on human rights and refugees. Protect this measure and asked London to “reconsider” this plan.