{"id":18412,"date":"2022-05-28T10:45:33","date_gmt":"2022-05-28T10:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative"},"modified":"2022-05-28T10:58:51","modified_gmt":"2022-05-28T10:58:51","slug":"why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative","title":{"rendered":"Why Rwanda was the right partner for the UK migrant initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>As a recent arrival in the UK, I\u2019ve watched with interest how the British media have covered the UK-Rwanda Migration Partnership. Sadly, much of what I\u2019ve seen has given a distinctly distorted view of my country, doubting our capabilities to provide safety and opportunity to those in need, and questioning our motives.<\/p>\n

As the new High Commissioner to the UK, it\u2019s my job to give a voice to the Rwandan people and explain why our country is exactly the right choice of partner for this innovative initiative.<\/p>\n

Because of our history, Rwanda has a deep connection to those seeking safety and opportunity in a new land. This experience has shaped our national approach to migration and asylum issues and has made Rwanda one of the most welcoming nations in the world, supporting those in need no matter where they come from. This stands in stark contrast to the false image painted by our critics.<\/p>\n

Critics such as Giles Foden willingly promulgate misinformation about Rwanda to advance their own agendas. In his recent Guardian piece, Foden chooses to quote an overnight \u2018expert\u2019 on Rwanda, who is far from the credible source he claims she is. He also chooses to highlight the case of Paul Rusesabagina, a man convicted of terror offences along with 20 others, to back up his outrageous suggestion that the UK is doing a \u2018devils\u2019 bargain\u2019 with President Kagame.<\/p>\n

Foden knows the facts of this case. He knows that Rusesabagina recruited genocidaires and others into an armed group which then carried out deadly attacks in Rwanda, killing nine and maiming many more. He also knows that in 2008, a Westminster Magistrates court proved Rusesabagina\u2019s links to the Hutu Power movement (who were responsible for the genocide).<\/p>\n

He also clearly didn\u2019t watch the live stream of the extensive trial of Rusesabagina and his co-accused, as he would have seen justice being done in a fair and transparent way. For Rwandans, this case is remembered for bringing justice to the victims of a terrorist attacks, though these victims don\u2019t even get a mention.<\/p>\n

Foden makes numerous other farcical allegations, including the suggestion that Rwanda can\u2019t be trusted to spend the UK\u2019s money, when Rwanda is one of the least corrupt countries in the world. But one of the most egregious claims is that we have a poor history of supporting migrants \u2013 when overwhelming evidence points to the contrary.<\/p>\n

Foden\u2019s Rwanda is not a country I recognise. It contradicts the lived experience of Rwandans, and those who settle here, such as Colonel Dr. Nesar Ahmed Hamraz and his family. But it also runs counter to the assessment of the international community who see Rwanda as an important and trusted partner in supporting those fleeing conflict.<\/p>\n

Our track record speaks for itself. Rwanda already provides refuge for almost 130,000 refugees from neighbours like the DRC and Burundi, as well as Afghanistan and migrants evacuated from Libya. For the Libya programme, Rwanda partnered with the UNHCR who\u2019s acting Chief of Mission said at the time: \u201cThese evacuation flights out of Libya continue to provide hope and safety to refugees and asylum seekers trapped in Libya\u201d.<\/p>\n

It is hard to believe the UNHCR, or the African Union (with whom we work with to support displaced people as a signatory to the Kampala Convention) would have worked with us on these humanitarian efforts, if we were the country the likes of Foden claim we are.<\/p>\n

What sets Rwanda\u2019s history apart from many other nations is that much of our most significant historical events have happened in the past few decades: from the Genocide Against the Tutsi in 1994, to Rwanda\u2019s rebirth and transformation over the past 28 years. This development has been built on simple priorities of restoring security and safety and offering opportunity to all Rwandans.<\/p>\n

After much work, the country is now often ranked as one of the safest nations in the world. Our economy has grown consistently allowing us to significantly reduce our poverty rate and create opportunities for our people. Gender empowerment has been at the heart of our growth and development, and we now have the highest rate of women in Parliament in the world and a proud record of women leading in the public and private sectors.<\/p>\n

We also take our international responsibilities seriously, with Rwanda working with fellow nations to address the biggest issues the world faces \u2013 including climate change (Rwanda banned plastic bags back in 2008 and is now aiming to be the world\u2019s first plastic-free country) and, of course, migration.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt that we are a work in progress. Every country is. But the Rwanda of today is unrecognisable from the country many of us know in 1994. To fail to even acknowledge this progress when talking about our nation is to fail to tell our true story. And to distort our history misrepresent the reality that Rwanda is committed to international initiatives to provide safety to those in need, such as the migration Partnership, because of our lived experience.<\/p>\n

While everyone is entitled to express their opinions about the partnership, I ask that people desist from spreading misinformation about Rwanda, as that doesn\u2019t make for a meaningful debate.<\/p>\n

The writer is Rwanda\u2019s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. As a recent arrival in the UK, I\u2019ve watched with interest how the British media have covered the UK-Rwanda Migration Partnership. Sadly, much of what I\u2019ve seen has given a distinctly distorted view of my country, doubting our capabilities to provide safety and opportunity to those in need, and questioning our motives. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":18411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,761,28],"tags":[760,763,758],"class_list":["post-18412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","category-homepage-english","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-rwanda","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Rwanda was the right partner for the UK migrant initiative - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As a recent arrival in the UK, I\u2019ve watched with interest how the British media have covered the UK-Rwanda Migration Par ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Rwanda was the right partner for the UK migrant initiative\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As a recent arrival in the UK, I\u2019ve watched with interest how the British media have covered the UK-Rwanda Migration Par ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-28T10:45:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-28T10:58:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/05\/postQueueImg_22-6292005675507.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1556\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"915\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Why Rwanda was the right partner for the UK migrant initiative\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-28T10:45:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-28T10:58:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative\"},\"wordCount\":906,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/05\/postQueueImg_22-6292005675507.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Rwanda\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\",\"homepage-english\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative\",\"name\":\"Why Rwanda was the right partner for the UK migrant initiative - Rwanda\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/05\/postQueueImg_22-6292005675507.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-28T10:45:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-28T10:58:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"As a recent arrival in the UK, I\u2019ve watched with interest how the British media have covered the UK-Rwanda Migration Par ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/05\/postQueueImg_22-6292005675507.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/05\/postQueueImg_22-6292005675507.jpg\",\"width\":1556,\"height\":915,\"caption\":\"Why Rwanda was the right partner for the UK migrant initiative\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why Rwanda was the right partner for the UK migrant initiative\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/\",\"name\":\"Rwanda\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Rwanda was the right partner for the UK migrant initiative - Rwanda","description":"As a recent arrival in the UK, I\u2019ve watched with interest how the British media have covered the UK-Rwanda Migration Par ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why Rwanda was the right partner for the UK migrant initiative","og_description":"As a recent arrival in the UK, I\u2019ve watched with interest how the British media have covered the UK-Rwanda Migration Par ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative","og_site_name":"Rwanda","article_published_time":"2022-05-28T10:45:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-05-28T10:58:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1556,"height":915,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/05\/postQueueImg_22-6292005675507.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Why Rwanda was the right partner for the UK migrant initiative","datePublished":"2022-05-28T10:45:33+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-28T10:58:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative"},"wordCount":906,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/05\/postQueueImg_22-6292005675507.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Rwanda","Rwanda"],"articleSection":["all news","files","homepage-english"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative","name":"Why Rwanda was the right partner for the UK migrant initiative - Rwanda","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/05\/postQueueImg_22-6292005675507.jpg","datePublished":"2022-05-28T10:45:33+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-28T10:58:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"As a recent arrival in the UK, I\u2019ve watched with interest how the British media have covered the UK-Rwanda Migration Par ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/05\/postQueueImg_22-6292005675507.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2022\/05\/postQueueImg_22-6292005675507.jpg","width":1556,"height":915,"caption":"Why Rwanda was the right partner for the UK migrant initiative"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/why-rwanda-was-the-right-partner-for-the-uk-migrant-initiative#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why Rwanda was the right partner for the UK migrant initiative"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/","name":"Rwanda","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}