Denmark can move its asylum procedure to Africa

Facts: The Social Democrats’ Asylum System

Already at the beginning of 2018, the Social Democrats presented their vision for a new asylum system in which the asylum process would take place in a third country outside the European Union. It was part of the campaign trail ahead of the 2019 elections, in which the party regained government authority from the previous bourgeois coalition.

A proposal to amend the Aliens Act was submitted to Parliament on April 29 this year and Parliament voted yes on Thursday.

The Social Democrats, the Liberal Party, the Danish People’s Party, the Conservatives, the New Bourgeoisie and the Liberal Alliance voted in favor of the proposal. On the downside, there’s the Socialist People’s Party, the Radical Left, and the Unity and Alternative List, according to the Folketing website.

The idea is to set up a reception center in a third country outside Europe. Third-country nationals and stateless persons seeking asylum in Denmark will be sent there and the asylum issue will be processed in that country.

Exceptions can be made for asylum seekers who are, for example, seriously ill. It should not be possible to submit an asylum application directly at the reception centre.

If asylum is granted, the person must not be integrated in Denmark but in the host country or alternatively transferred to a UN refugee camp. If there is a refusal, the host country is responsible for the deportation.

According to the Social Democrats’ vision from 2018, Denmark in the future will only accept refugees with quotas from the United Nations.

The bill has been criticized for its lack of detail, for example, nor is there a proposal for a host country.

According to Migration and Integration Minister Matthias Tesfaye (south), the government is in dialogue with 5-10 countries about its plans, but he does not want to specify which countries it is.

According to Jyllands-Posten, the government has held dialogue with Egypt, Tunisia, Rwanda and Ethiopia.

Tesfaye visited Rwanda in April, but said there were no concrete discussions with the country or that there was an agreement with the Rwandan government to set up a reception center in the country.

Sources: ft.dk, Jyllands-Posten, Ritzau, Socialdemokratiet