The government of Netherlands is considering sending rejected African asylum seekers to Uganda.
According to the reports, Netherland’s minister for foreign trade and development Reinette Klever said on Wednesday October 16 that, the proposal is being discussed by her country’s cabinet.
The minister made the revelation during her visit to Uganda. Klever further noted that she would leave the program to her colleague Marjolein Faber, who is the minister for asylum and migration to comprehensively the idea.
For now, the Netherlands says that the arrangement would only apply to asylum seekers who come from Uganda or from countries near Uganda.
According to the proposal, the Dutch government will pay Uganda for hosting the rejected asylum seekers. The migrants will be thereafter required to return to the home countries.
Dutch News outlet NL times reports that, both Uganda and the Netherlands would agree on the number of countries that fall under the same region as Uganda.
Uganda’s immediate neighbors are the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan.
Another Dutch News outlet NOS reports that most Asylum seekers of African origin would be deported and hosted in Uganda which would be financially compensated.
Klever said that her country has a long relationship with Uganda which she described as a hospitable nation.
Speaking on Wednesday, Klever said “in the end we want to push back migration. it’s important that the rejected asylum seekers go back to their countries of origin”.
The Dutch minister said that her country settled on Uganda because the East African nation already hosts many refugees.
NOS news outlet reported on Wednesday that Uganda is willing to accept the proposal.
On Wednesday, Klever met Uganda’s foreign minister General JeJe Ondongo.
Back in the Netherlands, the Uganda plan which is in its early stages, has already started facing opposition with some members of the Parliament saying the government’s move is an admission of failure to curb illegal immigration.
According to UNHCR, there were about 237, 000 refugees in the Netherlands by the end of 2023. During that year alone, nearly 50, 000 people filed asylum applications.
Asylum seekers from Africa who had the highest numbers were from Nigeria, Eritrea, Somalia Uganda and Sudan.
A plan by Uganda’s neighbor Rwanda to receive asylum seekers from the United Kingdom collapsed in May when the UK’s new prime minister Keir Starmer said that he would not pursue that cause.
With over 1.7 million refugees, Uganda is the largest refugee hosting country in Africa and the fifth largest in the world.
57% of the refugees in Uganda are from South Sudan followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at 32% Somalia 3% and Burundi 3%.
UNHCR said in its report that in 2024 alone, Uganda needed over 363 million US dollars to support the country’s refugee programs.
There are about 38 million refugees worldwide today.
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