In April, the UK announced a similar deal with Rwanda, although no refugee transfers have yet taken place following legal challenges from refugee rights groups.
Denmark’s government announced on Friday it had reached an agreement with Rwanda to move ahead with a controversial plan to transfer asylum seekers to the African country, which has drawn concern and criticism from the European Union.
In April, the UK announced a similar deal with Rwanda, although no refugee transfers have yet taken place following legal challenges from refugee rights groups.
Copenhagen and Kigali signed a bilateral cooperation agreement, which provides for the launch of “a program under which asylum seekers arriving in Denmark can be transferred to Rwanda while their application file is being examined,” according to a press release from the Danish Foreign Ministry.
The plan also provides for “the option of settling in Rwanda,” Copenhagen added.
Danish Integration Minister Kaar Diebvand Beck said he was “very happy” about the agreement, which is the fruit of talks that began more than a year ago.
Known for one of the harshest immigration policies in Europe, the Nordic country adopted a law in July 2021 allowing asylum seekers to be transferred outside the continent.
The Copenhagen plan provides that asylum seekers will be able to apply for asylum in person when they arrive at Danish border checkpoints before being flown to a reception center in another country.
The social democratic government of Denmark has announced that it is holding talks on this with other states as well. Publications refer to Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, but the contacts with Rwanda are the most advanced.
The European Commission distanced itself, judging that the plan “raises fundamental questions regarding both access to asylum procedures and access to protection” of refugees. It also stated that it reserves the right to take legal measures in case of implementation.
The agreement between London and Rwanda is the subject of appeals in the British courts.
Refugees and rights groups in Denmark also plan to take legal action against the plan.
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