Amnesty criticises EU plans to send migrants to Uganda, Rwanda

What the report says

Amnesty International has criticised plans by five European Union member states to explore “return hubs” in Uganda and Rwanda for migrants who could be deported from Europe. According to The Independent Uganda, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands were meeting to review progress on proposals that would move some migration enforcement outside the EU. The rights group warned that such arrangements could expose migrants to arbitrary detention, ill-treatment and forced onward return.

The report said Amnesty’s European Institutions Office director, Eve Geddie, argued that the hubs could become places where European governments outsource detention and deportation responsibilities. She urged the countries involved to reject the idea, saying negotiations appeared to be focusing on Uganda and Rwanda despite Amnesty’s concerns about both countries’ human rights records and the wider instability in the Great Lakes region.

Amnesty also said the proposal reflected a broader EU approach it described as migration diplomacy, in which richer states shift responsibilities to countries in the Global South. The organisation said earlier outsourcing efforts, including the Italy-Albania arrangement, had raised similar concerns. It further warned that Uganda’s legal and political environment, including the Anti-Homosexuality Act, made it a particularly worrying partner for such an arrangement.

The article said details of the proposed hubs have not been made public, but negotiations were described as advanced. Amnesty said it would continue challenging the legality and human rights impact of efforts to transfer deportation and migration control outside Europe.