Status: 18.11.2023, 19:02 PM
By: Felix Durach
CommentsPrint Share
The German government wants to examine the possibility of asylum procedures in third countries. In the UK, a similar model has failed in court.
Frankfurt – Should asylum seekers be brought from Germany to third countries in the future and their asylum applications processed there? This is a proposal that is the subject of controversial debate in German migration policy. North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst had recently positioned himself as a supporter of the so-called "Rwanda model".
The name derives from the British government's desire to outsource asylum procedures to Rwanda. However, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suffered a legal defeat during the week. Has the Rwanda model already failed in Germany? Representatives of government and opposition factions in the Bundestag have responded to a request from FR.de of IPPEN. MEDIA.
Rwanda model for asylum procedures: Supreme Court overturns Prime Minister Sunak's plans
On Wednesday, the UK's Supreme Court agreed with an appeals court's ruling that the deportations of migrants from third countries to Rwanda are illegal and violate international treaties, including the European Convention on Human Rights. There is a risk that asylum seekers will not receive a fair trial in the East African country, the Supreme Court stressed. The court cited, among other things, reports from the UN refugee agency UNHCR. Even if the British ruling has no impact on German migration policy for the time being, it can be seen as an indication of similar models in other European countries.
People are demonstrating in London against the British government's plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. © Tom Pilgrim/dpa
As part of the federal-state summit on migration on 6 November, the minister-presidents, together with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), agreed to examine "whether the protection status of refugees can also be determined in transit or third countries in the future in compliance with the Geneva Convention on Refugees and the European Convention on Human Rights."
Rwanda model also for Germany: Greens criticise – "loss of reality under international law"
Are these efforts now obsolete in view of the ruling in the UK? "From my point of view, this means great clarity for the deliberations in Germany. Anyone who wants to outsource asylum procedures in this way suffers from a loss of reality under international law," said Julian Pahlke, the political spokesman for the Green parliamentary group in the Bundestag, at the request of FR.de. "The ruling of the Supreme Court in London explicitly states that the British Conservatives' plan is incompatible with international law. I see it as a great danger that right-wing conservative migration policy will no longer be able to do without violations of international law," Pahlke continued.
Instead, the Green MEP spoke out in favour of the abolition of work bans in Germany and "serious efforts" for a fair distribution solution in Europe. "In the end, the debate about pseudo-solutions does not help any municipality," Pahlke said, referring to the Rwanda model.
FDP and Greens at odds – "Asylum procedure in third countries possible in principle"
However, the coalition partner of the Greens in the traffic light government comes to a completely different interpretation. The FDP parliamentary group also sees opportunities for Germany in the decision in Great Britain. "The verdict is not directly transferable to Germany. However, it shows that asylum procedures in third countries are possible in principle if high standards and principles of the rule of law are observed," said the parliamentary secretary of the FDP, Stephan Thomae, to FR.de. "We now have to build on this and continue to pursue this concept."
0
Read also
0
Fighting near Avdiivka: Russian military reportedly executed its own soldiers
READ
Russia destroys its own tanks – video shows explosion of "vehicle bomb" far from Ukraine position
READ3
Video shows Ukraine's "hellish attack" near Bakhmut
READ
How dictator Lukashenko continues to expand his power in Belarus almost unnoticed
READ
New tank delivery from Germany: Ukrainians probably rethink Leopard tactics on the battlefield
READ
Fancy a voyage of discovery?
My Area
"If it were possible for third countries to carry out fair asylum procedures in compliance with the Geneva Convention on Refugees and the European Convention on Human Rights, this would be a significant step forward in limiting irregular migration," Thomae continued. From the point of view of the FDP politician, such a regulation could also prevent people from taking "dangerous escape routes".
Migration Policy in Germany – International Law Experts on Asylum Procedures in Third Countries
The views of the two traffic light parties on the decision of the Supreme Court in Great Britain are therefore very different. Even though many questions remain unanswered with regard to German migration policy, the two politicians' assessment shows the complexity of the project.
Matthias Hartwig, an expert in international law at the Max Planck Institute for International Law in Heidelberg, wanted to talk to Merkur.de of IPPEN. MEDIA also "does not rule out" the possibility of asylum procedures in third countries. However, the German government must "examine very carefully in individual cases where asylum procedures at European level" can take place.
Basic concept "remains correct" – CDU/CSU parliamentary group waits with regard to Rwanda model
Like the FDP, Prime Minister Wüst saw the British ruling as an opportunity for German migration policy. "We can learn a lot for the German debate from the British ruling," the North Rhine-Westphalian CDU leader told the FAZ on Thursday (16 November). The CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag was rather reserved when asked by FR.de. "Our goal must be to prevent people from making the life-threatening journey across the Mediterranean in the first place. The concept of asylum procedures in safe third countries therefore remains correct, the ruling of the Supreme Court in Great Britain does not change this," said the group's domestic policy spokesman, Alexander Throm.
Throm emphasized that the ruling does not apply to Germany and the EU anyway. "The EU must resolutely promote the concept of asylum procedures in safe third countries. For us, it goes without saying that the procedure in the third country must be fair and in accordance with the rule of law."
Asylum procedures in third countries – Sunak insists on Rwanda model
The debate about asylum procedures in third countries is therefore likely to continue to be the order of the day in Germany for a longer period of time. The result of the review ordered by the federal and state governments could provide a first indication of whether such a system has a chance of success in Germany.
Britain's Prime Minister Sunak is not letting the verdict stop him either. Already on Wednesday, the head of government announced that he wanted to launch a new agreement with Rwanda and have the East African state declared a safe country by emergency law. Sunak also held out the prospect of ignoring a possible new ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Even if the British decisions do not apply to the political decision-makers in Berlin, the government and opposition in the Bundestag are likely to keep a close eye on developments in London. (fd)