Foreign trade minister Reinette Klaver (PVV) has said the Netherlands should consider Uganda as a so-called “return hub” for failed asylum seekers.

Klaver made the suggestion during a trade mission to Uganda and said it would be up to asylum minister Marjolein Faber to sort out the details.

The gist of the plan is to send refugees to the East African country from where they can be returned to countries in the “region” in exchange for financial compensation. It is not clear how many countries would be defined as belonging to the region.

PVV leader Geert Wilders welcomed the suggestion on social media, saying “Fewer asylum seekers, more Netherlands”, while coalition partner NSC said it would consider the idea if the safety of the asylum seekers could be guaranteed.

Return hubs are gaining traction in the EU and were recently endorsed by Ursula von der Leyen.

The BBB is in favour of return hubs “in principle”, party leader Caroline van der Plas told broadcaster NOS. “But as far as Uganda is concerned we have to be vigilant, especially where people from the LGBTQIA community are concerned,” she said.

The VVD said it would wait until Faber had presented a detailed plan before giving its reaction.

The opposition slated the plan, saying it was the new government’s “umpteenth attempt to detract attention from the fact they are not getting anything done”.

“They are not building homes, and they are unable to keep hospitals open,” GroenLinks-PvdA MP Jesse Klaver said.

Klaver said the way to return failed asylum seekers is to negotiate with their countries of origin. “It’s very complicated and needs a proper policy,” he said.

Ugandan human rights lawyer and winner of a Dutch human rights award Nicholas Opiyo said that if the plan were to lead to an accord between the two countries it would be “a fundamental break with the Dutch dedication to international law. It would be very “un-Dutch”, he said.

No status

Refugees would “end up in a no man’s land. They have no status in Uganda. They have no status in the Netherlands. They have fled their countries. You would only put them in more danger,” he said.

Opiyo pointed out that earlier attempts to use Uganda as a return hub have failed and its human rights record has been getting steadily worse.

“Uganda has been using refugees as a political pawn for some time,“ professor of development studies Kristof Titeca said. European countries are willing to turn a blind eye if it’s in their interests he said, including to breaches of human rights and corruption. “It doesn’t really matter as long as they can ditch their refugees,” he said.