The government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is “contrary to the nature of God,” the Archbishop of Canterbury will say.
The Rev. Justin Welby will use his Easter sermon to criticize the government’s scheme to deport refugees who reach the United Kingdom by illegal routes to Rwanda.
He is expected to say the policy is non-Christian and raises “serious ethical issues”.
Image: The Rev. Justin Welby says the scheme cannot “stand up to God’s judgment”
“The details are for politics,” he will say. “The principle must stand up to God’s judgment and it cannot.
“It cannot bear the burden of our national responsibility as a country shaped by Christian values, because the transfer of our responsibilities to subcontractors, even to a country that strives to do as well as Rwanda, is the opposite of the nature of God himself. took responsibility. for our failures. “
Image: Interior Minister Priti Patel signs agreement with Rwanda’s foreign minister
Read more: Why are migrants being sent to Rwanda and how will it work?
The archbishop’s unexpected intervention comes after criticism of the scheme from Labor politicians, human rights groups and the United Nations.
More on the passage of migrants
The prime minister and the interior minister defended the partnership, while conservative lawmakers widely supported the plans.
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10:25 The Minister defends the plan for Rwanda
On Friday, it became clear that Interior Minister Priti Patel had to issue a ministerial instruction on the plan, meaning she rejected the objections of senior government officials in her department.
The first migrants are expected to be sent to Rwanda on a charter flight in May, but this could be postponed as the government expects legal challenges against the partnership.
According to the plans, the approved refugees will have to stay in Rwanda instead of returning to the United Kingdom, and those rejected by the Rwandan government will be deported.
Responding to the archbishop’s criticism, a spokesman for the Home Office said: “The United Kingdom has a proud history of supporting those in need of protection and our resettlement programs have provided safe and legal ways to a better future for hundreds of thousands of people around the world. .
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2:44 A look at the detention centers in Rwanda
“However, the world is facing an unprecedented global migration crisis and change is needed to prevent the vicious smugglers of people who put people’s lives at risk and to repair the shattered global asylum system.
“Rwanda is a fundamentally safe and secure country with experience in supporting asylum seekers.
“Under this agreement, they will process claims in accordance with the UN Refugee Convention, national and international human rights law.”
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