The Dutch government announced that it has signed a memorandum of intent with Uganda to establish a reception center in Uganda for rejected asylum seekers. The memorandum was signed in New York by the Dutch Minister for Asylum Affairs and the Ugandan minister responsible for asylum issues, on the sidelines of the United Nations meetings. The planned center will accommodate Ugandan asylum seekers currently residing in the Netherlands without legal status.
According to the interim Dutch Minister for Asylum Affairs, the return center is intended for a limited number of rejected asylum seekers. He described the plan as a limited-scale pilot project aimed at ensuring compliance with national, European, and international laws. The minister added that those who refuse to leave voluntarily will face forced deportation. However, the Dutch Ministry of Asylum and Migration emphasized that deportation requires approval from the country of origin.
The Ugandan plan has drawn widespread criticism, with Amnesty International describing it as deeply concerning and far from positive. A spokesperson for the organization said, “First, the agreement is likely to result in the arbitrary detention of individuals or their return to countries where they could face danger. Second, Uganda has some of the world’s strictest laws against the LGBTQ+ community.”
The Dutch refugee support organization VluchtelingenWerk Nederland also criticized the plan, saying that the legal framework for it is still under negotiation and that the government’s agreement with Uganda is premature. The organization stated, “The plan involves detaining people who have no legal right to asylum and cannot return home because they lack travel documents, in a country they were neither born in nor have ever lived.”
The organization highlighted human rights violations in Uganda and expressed legitimate concerns that returnees could face abuses of their fundamental rights. It noted that Uganda enforces a harsh law against the LGBTQ+ community and called on the government to invest in voluntary return programs and to sign agreements with safe countries.
According to the Dutch caretaker Minister for Asylum Affairs, the agreement with Uganda is expected to be reviewed by Dutch courts in due course. “We believe this can be achieved within the framework of existing treaties and regulations,” he said. The minister also confirmed that the Netherlands is consulting with the UNHCR to ensure full compliance with human rights standards.
The Ugandan plan is one of several initiatives that European countries are seeking to implement to curb illegal immigration. The previous Conservative government in the United Kingdom attempted to introduce a similar plan before it was halted by the current Labor government.
