Denmark considering sending asylum seekers to Rwanda - Amnesty International
Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Amnesty International has opposed plans by Denmark to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda, calling the move “unconscionable and potentially unlawful."
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 Danish Parliament is set to debate a proposal to amend the country's allien laws on Thursday to transfer the rights of asylum seekers to a third country.
“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 Amnesty International official said.
“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.”
-0- PANA AO/VAO 5May2021
