{"id":1188394,"date":"2026-09-05T19:39:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T19:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1188394\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T19:39:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T19:39:20","slug":"five-eu-countries-plan-return-hubs-for-rejected-migrants-facing-criticism-from-rights-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1188394\/","title":{"rendered":"Five EU countries plan return hubs for rejected migrants, facing criticism from rights groups"},"content":{"rendered":"

Denmark and four other EU countries announced on Friday that they are establishing \u201creturn hubs\u201d in non-EU nations, with plans to start sending migrants to these facilities as early as 2027. Morten B\u00f8dskov<\/strong>, Denmark\u2019s Minister of Immigration and Integration, described this initiative as a fundamental transformation of the European migration and asylum system.<\/p>\n

Denmark, alongside Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Greece, is in negotiations with primarily African governments about potential locations for these hubs. Human rights groups have criticised the plans, fearing that deporting migrants to third-country centres could compromise their rights.<\/p>\n

B\u00f8dskov countered claims that \u201creturn hubs\u201d are simply detention centres, stating that the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency will oversee the facilities. He emphasised that these hubs offer new opportunities for irregular migrants unable to return to their home countries. <\/p>\n

The UNHCR told The Associated Press it has not received details about the proposal and cannot comment on potential arrangements. The IOM confirmed that no decision has been made regarding its role in \u201creturn hubs,\u201d noting that discussions are still exploratory. An IOM spokesperson stated that any initiative must comply with EU regulations, protect migrants\u2019 rights, respect partner countries\u2019 interests, and ensure access to sustainable solutions.<\/p>\n

Although ministers did not specify which third countries were under consideration, B\u00f8dskov stated they expect to finalise their first agreement by early 2027. The concept of \u201creturn hubs,\u201d previously mocked as incompatible with EU and international law, is now gaining traction due to public and political pressure for stricter measures against irregular migration. <\/p>\n

In June, European lawmakers voted to allow member states to create centres outside the EU for rejected asylum seekers rather than sending them back to their home countries. Bart van den Brink<\/strong>, the Netherlands\u2019 minister of asylum and migration, called this approach groundbreaking.<\/p>\n

Negotiations with Rwanda to host asylum seekers<\/strong><\/p>\n

In early August, a Rwandan government spokesperson stated that it was \u201cnatural\u201d to negotiate with European countries to host asylum seekers who cannot live elsewhere. Yolande Makolo<\/strong> mentioned an emergency transit mechanism established in Gashora in 2018 for individuals evacuated from Libya, allowing them to remain until they are resettled in another country.<\/p>\n

She explained that discussions included providing a \u201csafe place\u201d for those in need, as well as offering medical care and training while their asylum applications were processed. \u201cWe want to be part of a solution to a significant global problem,\u201d Makolo said. However, it remains unclear what benefits countries negotiating with the EU would receive for accepting rejected migrants from Europe. <\/p>\n

Rights groups concerned about \u201creturn hubs\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Migrant rights groups have criticised EU plans to set up migrant centres abroad. They suggest it may be difficult to monitor and enforce human rights.<\/p>\n

In an emailed statement, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O\u2019Flaherty<\/strong> said, \u201cvague assurances of compliance with human rights law are not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStates need to commit to the guardrails necessary to prevent setting up human rights black holes,\u201c he said.<\/p>\n

At the meeting in Copenhagen, European ministers confirmed that the new hubs would comply with European and international law. Dutch immigration minister Van den Brink noted that discussions and missions to potential partner countries would help assess the human rights situation and living conditions of refugees. He emphasised the importance of aligning their approach with European values and human rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cEU leaders may call these centres an \u2018innovative solution,\u2018 but outsourcing migration control is an old tactic to simply move people out of sight and evade human rights obligations,\u201c director of Brussels-based rights group PICUM Michele LeVoy<\/strong> said. <\/p>\n

This article used information from The Associated Press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Denmark and four other EU countries announced on Friday that they are establishing \u201creturn hubs\u201d in non-EU nations,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1188395,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5174],"tags":[322054,49499,322055,48511,365,2000,35713,299,5187,282467,4582,322056,28159,322016,307284,322057,16681,6658,322058,2685,322059,2945,322060,45602,322061],"class_list":["post-1188394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-eu","tag-african-governments","tag-asylum-system","tag-bart-van-den-brink","tag-council-of-europe","tag-denmark","tag-eu","tag-eu-regulations","tag-europe","tag-european","tag-european-migration","tag-human-rights","tag-international-organisation-for-migration","tag-iom","tag-michael-oflaherty","tag-michele-levoy","tag-morten-bodskov","tag-picum","tag-refugees","tag-rejected-migrants","tag-return-hubs","tag-rights-groups","tag-rwanda","tag-un-refugee-agency","tag-unhcr","tag-yolande-makolo"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117220131957458504","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1188394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1188394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1188394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1188395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1188394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1188394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1188394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}