Netherlands plans to deport Afghans via Uzbekistan

The Netherlands is considering an agreement with Uzbekistan on deportation of Afghans who have been denied asylum. This is reported by the NL Times.

The government is studying whether it can convince Uzbekistan to accept the asylum seekers.

“The Cabinet is currently examining to what extent agreements can be reached with Uzbekistan,” said Migration and Asylum Minister Marjolein Faber on Wednesday.

Because asylum seekers who have exhausted all legal remedies, especially criminal ones, are often not welcome in their countries of origin, the Netherlands and other European countries have for years sought ways to return them. These states are particularly reluctant to accept unwanted Afghans, due to the fact that they often have no official ties to their homeland since the Taliban took over.

Germany therefore intends to send these people back via Uzbekistan. The two countries reached an agreement to do so last month in exchange for accepting migrant workers from Uzbekistan.

Reprinted from https://kun.uz/