Rwanda in Talks With European Countries on Migrant Transit

Rwanda has initiated preliminary discussions with several European nations regarding the possibility of serving as a transit country for expelled migrants. The Rwandan government spokesperson, Yolande Makolo, confirmed these talks to AFP, emphasizing that "nothing has yet been decided."

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We have started preliminary discussions with some European countries, but nothing has yet been decided.

These discussions come as the European Union considers new regulations for returning asylum seekers. The EU Parliament approved a regulation in June that allows member states to establish agreements for migrant processing centers outside the Union's borders. This has raised concerns among human rights advocates.

Makolo mentioned that one idea under discussion involves Rwanda's emergency transit center in Gashora. This center, established in 2019, has previously housed thousands of migrants stranded in Libya. She explained that such a facility could provide medical care, training, and rest for families. It could also process asylum claims, allowing individuals to return to their home countries or be resettled elsewhere.

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One of the ideas we are discussing concerns the emergency transit center we have in Gashora.

Rwanda previously entered into a migration agreement with the United Kingdom in 2022. However, this deal, which aimed to send migrants who arrived illegally in Britain to Rwanda, was declared "dead and buried" by former UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer upon his arrival in power in 2024. The UK Supreme Court had deemed the agreement "illegal."

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This is also where asylum applications are processed and these people can either return to their country of origin if it is safe and if they wish, or be resettled in other countries.