Botswana has declined a request from the United Kingdom to take in ‘unwanted immigrants’ as part of the UK’s contentious plan to send migrants to Rwanda. Lemogang Kwape, Botswana’s foreign minister, confirmed that the UK government had approached Botswana through diplomatic channels to receive illegal migrants destined for the United Kingdom. However, Kwape stated that Botswana did not accede to the request due to its own immigration challenges and the unfairness of taking in unwanted immigrants from another country. Kwape mentioned that the UK authorities had specifically mentioned migrants from Afghanistan as potential candidates for relocation to Botswana, but no other countries were named. The UK’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda has been met with criticism from human rights groups and has faced legal challenges and legislative delays. The agreement would see migrants arriving in the UK as stowaways or in boats sent to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be processed. If successful, they would remain in Rwanda. The UK government has already paid Rwanda at least $298 million for the asylum plan, despite the fact that no migrants have been deported yet.
Botswana Declines UK Request to Take ‘Unwanted Immigrants’
