Baerbock criticizes CDU proposal to deport refugees to Rwanda
During a visit to Rwanda's capital Kigali on Monday, Baerbock was "somewhat surprised" that "conservative politicians in particular" were calling for people fleeing to Europe to be brought to countries such as Rwanda. Such demands are intended to distract from the actual goal - the implementation of a common European asylum policy.
Conservative forces in particular have always called for a common European migration policy, said Baerbock. They must now make a constructive contribution to ensuring that the current proposals receive a majority in the European Parliament. "In my view, it would also be in the interests of the German migration debate if the conservatives finally put their full weight behind this - in the European Parliament, but also in the German debate," Baerbock added. The demand to adopt the Rwanda model is only a "theoretical discussion".
The agreement between the UK and Rwanda provides for irregular arrivals to be sent from the UK to the African country in future without their asylum application being examined. A return to the UK is not planned. The British government hopes that this will have a deterrent effect on migrants.
At the weekend, CDU/CSU parliamentary group deputy leader Spahn called for all irregular refugees arriving in the EU to be sent to Ghana, Rwanda or non-EU countries in Eastern Europe. "If we do this consistently for four, six, eight weeks, then the numbers will drop dramatically," he told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung newspaper. The Geneva Refugee Convention does not state that protection from war persecution must be granted in the EU.
The Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Stamp, told the "Bild" newspaper on Monday: "The idea of safe third countries is not new and is also included in the coalition agreement of the "Ampel" coalition." However, it cannot be implemented as easily as Spahn "childishly naively" assumes. Diplomatic efforts at European level would be "ruined from the outset if there is public speculation about potential countries", warned Stamp. The migration crisis could not be overcome "with quick headlines".
The third country proposal is also the core of the migration concept in the draft of the new basic program presented by the CDU a few days ago. The CDU's domestic affairs expert Alexander Throm (CDU) had called on Baerbock to explore the possibilities of asylum cooperation during her visit to Rwanda.
"Rwanda would be a possible partner for us, where asylum procedures could be carried out outside of Europe," Throm told the AFP news agency. The CDU/CSU parliamentary group's domestic policy spokesman pointed out that the German government had "expressly promised to examine such a third country solution" at the federal-state summit in November.
The British parliament had declared Rwanda a safe country of origin on the initiative of the government in order to conclude the agreement with Kigali. The law passed last week also provides for parts of the British Human Rights Act not to be applied to deportations in order to restrict the legal process for migrants. Critics see London's actions as a violation of international law.
Rwanda's Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta defended the model. After the meeting with Baerbock, he expressed his openness to extending asylum cooperation, which has so far been limited to the UK, to other countries.
When asked whether Rwanda would also be prepared to cooperate with Germany in this way, Biruta said: "Rwanda is ready to work with any partner to solve the global migration crisis." He described criticism of the agreement with the UK as "unfair for Rwanda". "The global migration system is not working," he said.
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- Baerbock expressed her critique towards the CDU's proposal to deport refugees to Rwanda during her visit to Kigali.
- The CDU's initiative to send irregular refugees to countries like Rwanda aims to divert attention from the implementation of a common European asylum policy.
- Jens Spahn, a CDU/CSU parliamentary group deputy leader, suggested deporting all irregular refugees in the EU to Ghana, Rwanda, or Eastern European countries.
- The agreement between the UK and Rwanda permits the transfer of irregular arrivals to Rwanda without examining their asylum applications.
- Baerbock urged the conservatives in Germany and the EU to engage constructively in ensuring that the current proposals receive a majority in the European Parliament.
- Alexander Throm, the CDU's domestic affairs expert, suggested investigating asylum cooperation possibilities during Baerbock's visit to Rwanda.
- Rwanda's Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta expressed interest in extending asylum cooperation with other countries, not just limited to the UK, to address the global migration crisis.
- Joachim Stamp, the Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, cautioned against public speculation about potential countries for a third-country solution to the EU migration crisis.
- Baerbock described the demand to adopt the Rwanda model as a mere theoretical discussion and stressed the importance of a common European asylum policy.
- Critics argue that the UK's agreement with Rwanda infringes on international law due to the lack of asylum application examination and the restriction of legal processes for migrants.
Source: www.stern.de
