The exact reason as to why Rwanda has been selected to send asylum seekers to is unclear. This is because the new Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries was never scrutinised before Parliament, or voted upon before it was signed off and pushed through. Rwanda may have been selected because other countries have tried the same model with Rwanda before (unsuccessfully, it should be said) so a framework was already there. However, the exact motivation behind the UK-Rwanda partnership remains unclear.
The official line on the new UK-Rwanda migration partnership is that it builds on wider collaboration with Rwanda on many shared issues, including efforts to combat climate change and delivering UK Aid. It is also set out officially on the Gov website that part of the reason for choosing Rwanda is that it is a State Party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the seven core UN Human Rights Conventions (although their adherence to those fundamentals is currently the subject of litigation).
The introduction of the Rwanda asylum plan is a result of the government’s snap response to the much higher numbers of those coming to the UK via the English Channel recently. The UK government maintains that the policy will discourage people smuggling, and should, eventually, close illegal immigration via this route. Back when the UK was still a formal member of the EU, the Home Office was able to return migrants back to a safe third country in which the migrants were likely to have passed through on their journey to the UK. However, the UK’s departure from the EU has meant that the Home Office no longer holds these powers.
As a result of the Rwanda asylum plan, if it is found that an individual who is seeking to claim asylum in Britain:
Passed through a country where they could have or did apply for asylum and;
Can easily be removed to another country that the UK government has an agreement with.
Then their asylum claim will not be assessed in Britain.