The Dutch coalition government, led by the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) of Geert Wilders, is considering sending asylum seekers from Africa whose applications are rejected to Uganda, prompting a backlash from the opposition, calling his plan “irrelevant “.
The Minister of Trade and Development of the Netherlands, Reinette Klever, said during her visit to Uganda, that the country is “open” to discussions, although the details of the plan are still unclear.
The plan involves Uganda accepting asylum seekers from various African countries in exchange for financial compensation from the Netherlands. However, legal and practical challenges remain, with the government considering its possible implementation.
Uganda already hosts 1.6 million refugees from neighboring countries such as Sudan and Congo, making its cooperation in this plan uncertain. Uganda’s foreign minister, Jeje Odongo, expressed the country’s readiness for negotiations, but the deputy foreign minister, Okello Oryem, noted that Uganda was unlikely to agree, stressing that the country does not expelling refugees.
The plan has caused a backlash within the Dutch government due to human rights concerns in Uganda, particularly with the country’s anti-LGBTQ legislation. Claudia van Zanten from the agricultural party BBB and Diederik Boomsma from the anti-corruption party NSC expressed their concern about the conditions in the country.
The plan was attacked by the opposition, who claimed it was a distraction from the government’s problems. The Greens’ Jesse Klaver said the government had failed to tackle key issues such as building homes and running hospitals, while D66’s Rob Jetten called the idea “unworkable”, recalling similar failed plans by Denmark and the UK.
The example of the United Kingdom with its attempt to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda, which was abandoned after major setbacks, is pointed to as a warning about the difficulties associated with such policies. The scheme cost the British taxpayer around £700m and no asylum seeker was ever sent to Rwanda.
The Dutch government has focused on enforcing a “stricter immigration policy” in the country, despite asylum applications in the Netherlands being around the EU average.
With information from the Guardian
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