The World Briefly

April 26, 2024

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Botswana

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Botswana’s government said this week it had rejected a proposal to accept migrants and asylum seekers from the United Kingdom, a plan similar to a deal London reached with Rwanda two years ago, Voice of America reported.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lemogang Kwape said British officials had reached out to the African nation about hosting the migrants before they are processed, but the government declined the proposal, saying it would not commit to “hosting people not knowing what the end game would be,” he added.

The proposal resembled the current deal between the UK and Rwanda, which will see the African nation accept thousands of migrants and asylum seekers who want to settle in the UK.

British officials have hailed that agreement as integral in tackling illegal migration to the UK, with a primary focus on deterring individuals from undertaking perilous journeys across the English Channel in small boats.

Botswana’s decision came days after the UK’s upper house of parliament passed a bill allowing the government to begin deportations to Rwanda following years of legal challenges and political wrangling.

After the passage of the bill Monday by the House of Lords, the UK said it would begin the deportations by mid-July.

Civil society organizations in Botswana have urged their government to decline the deal with the UK, while also urging other nations to distance themselves from the plan as it is not in line with international conventions on the treatment of asylum-seekers.

Meanwhile, Africanews said other countries such as Ivory Coast, Armenia and Costa Rica had also been approached by the UK as possible partners in the scheme.

This story originally appeared in the April 26, 2024 newsletter, Plows to Swords.