Offshoring Desperation

Listen to Today's Edition:

Denmark began negotiations with Rwanda this week about establishing a reception center for asylum seekers, a proposed plan that resembles a similar scheme between the African country and Britain, Euronews reported.

Danish Immigration and Integration Minister Mattias Tesfaye said the two governments are conducting talks but have not reached a deal on asylum centers.

The talks come a year after Denmark passed a contentious law that would allow the European country to move refugees to asylum centers in a partner nation while their cases are processed.

Last year, Tesfaye also traveled to Rwanda to sign an agreement to boost cooperation on immigration issues.

The legislation has drawn condemnation from human rights organizations and the European Union, who said it undermined “the foundations of the international protection system for the world’s refugees,” Politico noted.

The proposed plan follows a similar scheme by Britain, which intends to send asylum seekers for processing to Rwanda as part of a tough new immigration plan.

Human rights advocates have admonished both schemes as “unethical.”

But the Danish government maintains that the plan is a “more dignified approach” that will stop illegal immigration and people smugglers. Tesfaye added that the current European asylum system is “unsustainable” and praised the British plan.

Danish lawmakers will meet next week on the issue.