NEW YORK — The Netherlands and Uganda have signed an agreement that could see some migrants who cannot remain in the Netherlands temporarily relocated to Uganda before returning to their countries of origin.
The arrangement, announced during the United Nations General Assembly, was formalized in a letter of intent signed by David van Weel, the Dutch minister responsible for asylum and migration, and Ugandan Foreign Minister Odongo Jeje Abubakhar.
The deal is aimed at cases where foreign nationals from countries around Uganda are ordered to leave the Netherlands but fail to do so, and where deportation directly to their home country is not possible. Under the plan, those individuals could be sent to a reception facility in Uganda, where they would again be offered repatriation assistance before being expected to travel on to their country of origin.
Van Weel said the initiative reflects a shift in Dutch policy. “We need to start focusing more on what can be done, rather than on what cannot,” he told reporters after signing the agreement. “That is why we are taking this step with Uganda to get migration under control. Obviously the human rights of people who return to their country of origin via Uganda will be safeguarded.”
Officials described the agreement as the start of a small-scale pilot project. No timeline has been given, but both governments said the details will be worked out in consultation with the European Commission, the International Organization for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency.
The Dutch government has stressed that any arrangement must comply with European and international law, as well as domestic legal standards. That question remains unsettled. A similar migration partnership between the United Kingdom and Rwanda was struck down in court after years of legal challenges, and no asylum seekers were ever sent there before a new government canceled the plan in 2024.
Uganda, which already hosts more than 1.7 million refugees from neighboring conflicts, has not commented publicly on how many people it would be prepared to receive under the Dutch pilot.
Migration is shaping up to be a decisive issue in the Netherlands’ election next month, following the collapse of the caretaker government in June over disputes about asylum policy. In 2024, 32,175 asylum seekers entered the Netherlands — a 16 percent drop compared with the previous year.
The Netherlands has presented the agreement with Uganda as evidence of its willingness to test new approaches to migration management. But legal experts and rights groups are likely to scrutinize whether the plan passes the same tests that upended the UK-Rwanda deal.
