The leader of the Church of England, Justin Welby, on Sunday criticized the British government’s plan to send asylum seekers to await their procedures in Rwanda.
This declaration, which was issued during the week, drew criticism from human rights organizations and even from the United Nations.
Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Church of England’s most senior clergyman, added to the criticism in his Easter message.
The religious leader stated that the proposal raised “serious ethical questions”.
“The principle should carry God’s judgment and it is not,” Welby said.
The cleric said that a country like the UK, formed on Christian values, could not “outsource its responsibilities, even to a country like Rwanda that has good intentions”.
“This is the opposite of God’s nature,” he said.
When he unveiled the plan last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had already suggested that his proposal could face legal challenges.
But the Home Office, which is responsible for implementing the policy, has argued that the UK’s current system is “disrupted” in the face of unprecedented immigration pressures.
Rwanda will initially receive 120 million pounds (157 million, 144 million euros) to welcome asylum seekers and migrants and give them a legal pathway to residence.”
But the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees criticized the plan, calling it a “heinous violation of international law”.
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