AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -The Netherlands is close to signing a deal with Uganda to set up a hub where rejected asylum seekers from the region can be sent before being deported to their home countries, a government source said on Wednesday.
An agreement was expected in the coming days, the source said.
A spokesperson for Dutch Migration Minister David van Weel confirmed that Van Weel had been having "constructive and advanced talks with Uganda" on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
"There are currently constructive and advanced talks with Uganda about the return of rejected asylum seekers via Uganda,” the spokesperson said. He added that, while the minister did not want to get ahead of developments, he was optimistic.
The spokesperson could not give any more details about the timing of a deal.
Uganda's foreign affairs ministry could not be immediately reached for comment.
In March, the European Commission proposed that member countries would be allowed to set up centres in non-EU countries where migrants whose asylum claims were rejected could await deportation.
But it is not immediately clear whether such a plan would be legal under Dutch law and international treaties.
In Britain, a similar deal with Rwanda faced legal challenges and was ultimately scrapped after a change in government brought Labour to power. The previous Conservative governments were also unable to send anyone to Rwanda, with one planned flight halted by a court order in 2022.
Migration will be a key issue for next month's Dutch election. The current caretaker government collapsed in June due to differences over tougher immigration policies.
In 2024, 32,175 asylum seekers entered the Netherlands, a 16% decline compared with 2023.
(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout from Amsterdam, additional reporting by Elias Biryabarema from Kampala, Muvija M from London, Editing by Alex Richardson)
