Denmark: Plans to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda “unconscionable and potentially unlawful”

Amnesty supporters write to Danish Minister of Immigration and Integration to oppose move

Responding to the news that Danish authorities have signed an agreement with the Rwandan government to enhance cooperation on migration and asylum, potentially to then send asylum-seekers to Rwanda, Amnesty International’s Europe Director, Nils Muižnieks, said:

“Any attempt to transfer asylum-seekers arriving in Denmark to Rwanda for their asylum claims to be processed would be not only unconscionable, but potentially unlawful. Denmark cannot deny the right of those arriving in Denmark to seek asylum and transfer them to a third country without the required guarantees.

“The idea that rich countries can pay their way out of their international obligations, stripping people seeking asylum of their right to even have their claims considered in Denmark, is deeply worrying.”

“These proposals take responsibility-shifting of refugee protection by EU governments to a new low, and would set a dangerous precedent in Europe and globally.

“The idea that rich countries can pay their way out of their international obligations, stripping asylum-seekers of their right to even have their claims considered in Denmark, is deeply worrying.”