- Joined
- May 14, 2008
- Messages
- 20,036
- Reaction score
- 6,803
Germany’s opposition conservatives are seeking to win back voters with a sweeping change to the country’s immigration and asylum policy, including plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Jens Spahn, a leading member of the Christian Democrats (CDU), said at the weekend that his party was in favour of the transportation of future refugees to third countries for processing of asylum applications such Ghana and Rwanda in Africa, or to non-EU European countries such as Moldova and Georgia.
“If we did this and kept it up consequently for four, six, eight weeks, we would see the numbers [claiming asylum] reduce dramatically,” said Spahn, who is vice parliamentary leader of the CDU.
Spahn called third countries “safe harbours” that “would fulfil the terms and conditions of the UN refugee convention”.
Countries such as Morocco and Senegal have also been put forward as possible third-party countries.
The remarks suggest the concept of the UK’s Rwanda policy is gaining traction internationally. The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has proposed sending asylum seekers to Albania.
Austria has also expressed its interest in such a scheme.
CDU seeks to win back German voters with its own Rwanda asylum plan
Official says party favours sending refugees to third countries such as Rwanda for application processing
www.theguardian.com