BRUSSELS, September 2 — Amnesty International has issued a stark warning that European plans for so-called ‘return hubs’ outside the bloc risk becoming “cruel black holes” for human rights. The alert comes ahead of a September 4 meeting between Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece, and the Netherlands to discuss progress on plans to deport people to facilities in non-European countries.
Eve Geddie, Director of the European Institutions Office of Amnesty International, said that by their design such hubs carry a risk of grave human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, torture, ill-treatment, and forced onward returns to countries of origin. Geddie expressed particular alarm that discussions are reportedly focusing on Uganda and Rwanda, countries she described as having “appalling human rights records” and ongoing conflict and political instability in the Great Lakes Region.
Negotiations are reported to be advanced with both nations, with reports of a planned centre in Uganda that could become operational in 2027 and accommodate up to 10,000 people. Amnesty has documented rights violations in Uganda, including repression, unlawful detention, deportations, and an extreme anti-LGBTQ+ law that criminalises consensual same-sex acts and carries the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”.
In Rwanda, the government and military are reported to control and support the M23 armed group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has perpetrated serious abuses that may amount to war crimes.
A legal contradiction
The EU Return Regulation, not yet formally adopted, would provide the legal basis for ‘return hubs’ — yet it states that agreements may only be reached with countries where international human rights standards are respected. In 2023, the UK Supreme Court ruled that Rwanda was not a safe third country for the UK to forcibly transfer asylum seekers, citing the country’s record of repression and restrictions on media and political freedom.
Geddie criticised the EU’s “migration diplomacy” approach as based on power asymmetries, accusing the bloc of shirking its migration responsibilities and shifting them onto Global South countries that already receive more refugees with fewer resources. She referenced the Italy-Albania deal and past attempts to outsource migration policies, arguing that ‘return hubs’ will disproportionately harm racialised people.
She linked the plans to xenophobic and racist rhetoric, citing chants to “send them back” heard in the European Parliament in June. Amnesty has repeatedly warned that ‘return hubs’ cannot be implemented in a human rights-compliant manner. The September 4 meeting is part of ongoing EU discussions on migration policy, which have raised concerns among human rights organisations about the outsourcing of asylum responsibilities.
