Netherlands to work with other EU countries on deportation hubs for asylum seekers

The Netherlands is joining forces with several EU member states to establish "return hubs" for rejected asylum seekers outside the European Union. Minister of Asylum and Migration Bart van den Brink announced the initiative in Brussels, identifying a frontrunner group consisting of the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Germany, and Denmark following a meeting with his European counterparts.

The Jetten Cabinet has abandoned the previous government’s proposal to create a return hub in Uganda. However, Van den Brink said the Netherlands still intends to pursue the broader strategy of setting up return hubs.

The Netherlands is currently exploring which non-EU countries could host these return hubs. "We aren't making any announcements on that just yet, but we are certainly ambitious in that regard," said Van den Brink.

"We are going to coordinate who has the best entries or contacts abroad," the minister stated, emphasizing that finding host countries for the hubs is a "collective task" for the five EU partners.

Should the partnership succeed, Minister Van den Brink suggests that the initiative could eventually be expanded to include other interested EU countries.

The key condition is that the human rights of migrants are safeguarded, Van den Brink emphasized. “That is also why it is good that the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees will be involved in establishing the hubs.” He was referring to the International Organization for Migration and the UN refugee agency, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The minister declined to specify which countries might host the proposed joint return hubs.

Researchers from the Clingendael Institute warned in a report published last month that establishing return hubs would be “not easy.” According to the study, only a limited number of countries are willing to host such facilities.

With so few possible partners, those states could demand significant compensation, while European Union countries would have little room to set strict conditions. The report had been prepared at the request of the ministry led by Bart van den Brink.