Five European Countries Near Plan to Send Rejected Migrants to Rwanda

Five European countries are closing in on a plan to send rejected migrants to Rwanda, a nation in East Africa, according to The New York Times. Rejected migrants are people whose applications for asylum, or protection from their home countries, have been turned down.

The idea is not new. It follows a failed British deal with Rwanda. In 2022, the European Court of Human Rights, a court based in Strasbourg that rules on complaints under the European Convention on Human Rights, halted a British plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. In 2023, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the government's plan to send asylum seekers there was unlawful.

Rwanda has signalled that it is willing to take part. Reuters has reported that Rwanda is open to hosting migrants transferred from Europe.

The European effort now centres on Kigali, Rwanda's capital. According to InfoMigrants, Kigali has emerged as the site for Europe's first "return hub" for rejected migrants, a facility that five European governments are pursuing.

Rwanda is not the only country under consideration. Deutsche Welle has reported that Europe is considering sending rejected asylum seekers to Rwanda and possibly Uganda.