BRUSSELS, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Rwanda had held preliminary discussions with some EU member states about potentially hosting facilities for migrants transferred from those countries, two European Parliament lawmakers said on Wednesday, citing discussions with Rwandan officials.
During their visit to Kigali last week, the lawmakers, Tineke Strik and Anna Strolenberg of the Greens/EFA and Volt groups, said Rwandan officials told them they are open to the idea but that discussions remained at an early stage and no agreements had been reached.
Rwandan officials were not immediately available for comment.
Earlier this month, five European countries said they aimed to strike agreements this year to send migrants without a legal right to remain in the European Union to countries outside the bloc.
Germany, Austria, Greece, Denmark and the Netherlands, known as the Group of Five, said they had agreed on concrete steps towards establishing return hubs in a non-EU country as part of a wider European push to increase deportations and curb irregular migration.
The countries have not publicly identified potential host states.
An EU official told Reuters, on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly, that Rwanda was among the countries being considered by the Group of Five.
During their visit, the lawmakers were shown two facilities prepared under Britain's abandoned Rwanda deportation scheme that could potentially be used to house migrants transferred from Europe. One of the sites was a hotel.
The five countries are expected to meet again on Thursday on the sidelines of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council.
Rwanda has in recent years positioned itself as a destination for migrants that Western nations would like to remove, despite concerns by rights groups about human rights in the country.
Last year, Rwanda received migrants deported from the United States after the two countries reached an agreement for the transfer of up to 250 people.
In 2023, the UK Supreme Court ruled that a government plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful. Rwanda later asked Britain for a £50 million ($63.62 million) payment after the asylum deal was cancelled.
Rights groups have criticised return hub proposals, saying they risk undermining safeguards for migrants and asylum seekers, while supporters argue they could boost returns and deter irregular migration.
"The deportation plans by these five member states are unrealistic, inhumane and costly," Strik said.
Uganda and Rwanda, which host large refugee populations, have also been hit hard by cuts in US foreign aid, forcing humanitarian agencies to scale back food assistance, healthcare and other services for displaced people.
“Uganda and Rwanda are one of the few stable countries in the region. Pressuring these countries by sending even more people is tempting fate,” said Strolenberg.
(Reporting by Amina Ismail; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
