Rwanda prepared to accept migrants from EU states

Rwanda had held preliminary discussions with some EU member states about potentially hosting facilities for migrants transferred from those countries, reports CNBC Africa. Two European Parliament lawmakers, Tineke Strik and Anna Strolenberg of the Greens/EFA and Volt groups, said during their recent visit to Kigali, that 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. Last month, five European countries said they aimed to strike agreements this year to send migrants without a legal right to remain in the EU 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 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. 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.

Full CNBC Africa report

And Burundi has now agreed to join a clutch of other African nations in receiving migrants from other countries deported from the US under President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policy, reports TimesLIVE. However, Bujumbura will only accept those not accused of crime or terrorism links, said Nancy Ninette Mutoni, spokesperson for President Evariste Ndayishimiye. The announcement gave no details of numbers, timing, or financial terms. Washington has sent so-called third-country deportees to some half a dozen African nations under opaque deals that Senate Democrats say have cost tens of millions ​of dollars. In many cases, deportees had secured legal protections from immigration courts in the US against repatriation, but rights groups say the third-country deals allow the US to circumvent those protections. Mutoni said preparations were under way to arrange accommodation, living conditions and integration into communities. ‘ If they choose to join Burundian citizens and make a valuable contribution to national development, the law will be respected,’ she said, regarding potential citizenship. Burundi aimed to both strengthen diplomatic relations and provide hospitality to people in need, the spokesperson added. The US State Department told Reuters that it does ‘not comment on the details of our private diplomatic communications with other governments’,’ while a spokesperson for the Burundi Foreign ministry said that the details of the agreement were not yet available. 

Full TimesLIVE report