OPEN DEMOCRACY: The UK intends to send asylum seekers to the east African country. Rights groups say LGBTIQ people will be particularly at risk
Gerald* and his boyfriend fled Rwanda in February this year to escape persecution from their families and church. “They beat us, starved us and refused to give us shelter,” he told openDemocracy from neighbouring Uganda.
His testimony comes after the UK government announced new proposals to resettle asylum seekers in Rwanda.
The £120m scheme, paid for by the British taxpayer, will mostly target single men arriving on boats or lorries. Prime minister Boris Johnson called the plan “humane and compassionate” and said it would put an end to the businesses of “vile people smugglers”.
But rights groups say it will be particularly harmful to LGBTIQ people given Rwanda’s track record on LGBTIQ rights.
“It’s appalling for everyone. But for LGBTIQ people in particular, it’s substantially worse,” says Sonia Lenegan, legal and policy director at the NGO Rainbow Migration.
“The government must abandon this problematic agreement. There will be legal challenges to this.” » | Khatondi Soita Wepukhulu and Nandini Archer | Saturday, April 16, 2022
