Rwanda accepts seven people from US as part of deportation deal | Rwanda

Seven people arrived in Rwanda as part of an agreement to accept the United States deportees, the Rwandan government said.

“The first group of seven approved migrants arrived in Rwanda in mid-August … Three of the people expressed the desire to return to their country of origin, while four wish to stay and build lives in Rwanda,” said Yolande Makolo, government spokesperson on Thursday.

Officials did not offer any information on the nationalities of the seven deportees. Rwanda said on August 5 that it would accept up to 250 people from the United States and that it would have “the ability to approve each individual proposed for resettlement”.

The first arrivals would be “hosted by an international organization with visits to the International Organization on Rwandan Migration and Social Services,” said Makolo.

Donald Trump’s administration has pushed an expulsion campaign, a merchant of controversial arrangements to send people to third countries, including South Sudan and Eswatini, formerly Swaziland.

Rwanda signed a lucrative agreement in 2022 to accept migrants from Great Britain, only for the agreement to be abandoned when the work came to power last year.

Kigali accepted the program with Washington because “almost all Rwandan families have experienced the difficulties of travel,” said Makolo earlier this month. Those who arrived in Rwanda would receive training, health care and accommodation, she added.

The Trump administration said that the deportations of the third country are necessary because the nations of the house sometimes refuse to accept the deportees.

Rights experts have declared that deportations may violate international law by sending people in countries where they are faced with the risk of torture, abduction and other abuses.

Rwanda, which has 14 million inhabitants, claims to be one of the most stable countries in Africa and has praised its modern infrastructure. However, the agreement with Great Britain aroused criticism from the rights defense groups and has faced a long-standing legal challenge.

President Paul Kagame’s government has been accused of human rights violations and crushing political dissent and press freedoms.