Johnson defends immigration policy in Rwandan speech
Boris Johnson has defended his controversial immigration policy in a speech during his trip to Rwanda, saying that it “is in conformity with human rights”.
The Prime Minister is in the capital of Kigali today for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which is held every two years.
It comes after Johnson struck a deal with the Rwandan government in April to send Channel migrants to detention camps in the African nation.
Opposition parties and human rights organisations have slammed the policy as inhumane, particularly taking the Rwandan government’s poor human rights record into account.
Johnson said that Rwanda has “undergone an absolute transformation in the last couple of decades” and has moved forward by “leaps and bounds”.
Johnson said that there has been an “immense amount of due diligence on the way things work, both in the UK and in Rwanda so that everything we do is in conformity with human rights, with everything you would expect”.
The PM will meet with Prince Charles at the summit in what could be an awkward encounter.
It was reported this month that the royal has been a vociferous critic of the Rwanda plan behind closed doors.
When asked by journalists if he will defend the policy to Prince Charles, Johnson said: “People need to keep an open mind about the policy, the critics need to keep an open mind about the policy.
“A lot of people can see its obvious merits. So yeah, of course, if I am seeing the Prince tomorrow, I am going to be making that point.”