Joachim Stamp, Germany's migration agreements commissioner, has suggested that facilities in Rwanda, originally funded by the UK, could be used to process some asylum seekers.
The UK’s scrapped scheme had aimed to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, but the plan was halted by the new government. Under the original plan, deported asylum seekers were not allowed to return to the UK.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz, however, has previously voiced skepticism about processing asylum applications abroad, according to reports. While Stamp’s suggestion adds to the debate, it is unlikely that the proposal will advance. Scholz has indicated that legal questions remain regarding how such a scheme could function within international law.
In response to the idea, German Ambassador to the UK Miguel Berger reportedly clarified that there are no plans by the German government to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.
"Let’s be clear, there is no plan of the German government to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda," he was quoted as saying. "The discussion is about processing asylum applications in third countries under international humanitarian law and with support of the United Nations."
Like the UK, Germany is under increasing pressure to address illegal migration, particularly in light of the recent rise of the far-right Alternative for Deutschland party in state elections. Stamp suggested that a potential scheme could target individuals crossing the EU’s eastern borders and be managed by the UN Refugee Agency.
"We currently have [no third country] who has come forward, with the exception of Rwanda," Stamp stated during an interview on the Table Briefings podcast.
In July, the UK government canceled its controversial Rwanda scheme, which aimed to deter illegal Channel crossings by sending asylum seekers to Rwanda.
The plan, which involves sending illegal immigrants arriving in Britain to the African country, was presented two years ago by Boris Johnson's government, but his successors failed to implement the project due to opposition from human rights activists and the European Court of Human Rights.