WCC NEWS: WCC urges reconsideration of UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership

The World Council of Churches, in a public statement, is urging the government of the United Kingdom to reconsider the UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership. Houses of parliament, UK, from the South Bank on a rainy day. Photo: Sean Hawkey/Life on Earth Pictures 02 June 2022 "Through this partnership, asylum-seekers who are already on UK soil can be transferred to Rwanda, where their asylum claims will be processed,” reads the statement. “Though UK government officials claim that the agreement ‘fully complies with all national and international law, including the UN Refugee Convention and European Convention on Human Rights,’ many reputable human rights organizations as well as senior church leaders in the UK have criticized it.” The statement notes that critics describe the partnership as an attempt by a wealthy country to outsource migration management to a poorer country in violation of obligations under international refugee law. “The executive committee calls upon the government of the United Kingdom to reconsider this policy, in light of the additional threat it poses to people already fleeing from conflict and oppression,” the statement concludes. Statement on UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland