Uphold Human Rights. Respect International Law.
To:
● The Government of the Netherlands
● Members of the Dutch Parliament
● Members of the European Parliament, in particular the LIBE Committee
● The European Commission
● The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)
We, the undersigned, call on the Government of the
Netherlands to immediately stop plans and trash the
proposal to transfer failed asylum seekers to Uganda.
Any such transfer would expose individuals to serious and foreseeable
human rights risks and would undermine the fundamental principles of
international protection and European asylum law.
Why this petition is urgent
Uganda is currently experiencing a severe and well-documented deterioration
of its human rights situation. Over recent years, with a clear escalation in the
last five years, international organisations and United Nations bodies have
consistently reported:
● Systematic repression of political opposition and civil society;
● Arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and prolonged detention
without due process;
● Torture and ill-treatment by security forces;
● Severe restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, and
association;
● Persecution of vulnerable groups, including human rights defenders and
LGBTQ+ individuals.
These violations are not isolated incidents. They reflect structural and
persistent patterns of abuse, impunity, and erosion of the rule of law.
Transferring asylum seekers — many of whom have already fled
persecution, violence, or conflict — into such an environment would
expose them to real and foreseeable risks of serious harm.
Which asylum seekers would be affected by the Dutch proposal
Public information and political statements indicate that the Dutch
government is considering the transfer of specific categories of asylum
seekers, potentially including individuals whose asylum applications have
been rejected, deemed inadmissible, or are pending appeal.
However, the precise scope of the proposal remains unclear and insufficiently
transparent.
Under international and European law, legal or administrative status
does not remove the right to protection. Even individuals whose claims
have been rejected or classified under specific procedural categories
remain protected against transfer if they face a real risk of persecution,
torture, or inhuman or degrading treatment.
Any approach that treats certain categories of asylum seekers as
automatically removable without rigorous, individual risk assessments would
violate fundamental legal safeguards and expose people to irreparable harm.
Such transfers would be unlawful
The proposed transfers would contravene binding international and
European legal obligations, including:
● The 1951 Refugee Convention;
● The Convention Against Torture;
● The European Convention on Human Rights;
● The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
The principle of non-refoulement is absolute. It prohibits transferring
individuals to any country where they face a real risk of serious human rights
violations. This obligation cannot be overridden by political agreements,
migration management objectives, or diplomatic assurances.
European and international jurisprudence has consistently confirmed that States remain legally responsible for the foreseeable consequences of transferring asylum seekers to unsafe third countries.
Externalising asylum is not a solution
Recent attempts to externalize asylum responsibilities — such as the EU–Turkey arrangement or the UK–Rwanda scheme — have demonstrated the legal, ethical, and practical failures of such approaches.
Rather than strengthening protection, these policies shift responsibility onto
countries that lack the political, institutional, and legal conditions necessary to guarantee effective and durable protection, while weakening the integrity of
the international asylum system.
Given the documented human rights situation, Uganda cannot be considered a safe third country for asylum transfers.
Why action is needed now
Available information and public debate suggest that relocation of the
asylum seekers could be implemented rapidly, with limited transparency and insufficient parliamentary scrutiny. Once transfers begin, the harm caused would be irreversible.
Urgent preventive action is therefore essential.
See Our
Demands
Below
Our demands
We call on the Government of the Netherlands and relevant European
institutions to:
1. Immediately halt and force the Netherlands to abandon any
proposal to transfer asylum seekers to Uganda;
2. Fully respect international and European legal obligations,
including the principle of non-refoulement;
3. Guarantee fair, individual, and lawful asylum procedures that
ensure effective protection;
4. Ensure transparency and parliamentary oversight over any
cooperation with third-party countries on asylum matters;
5. Reaffirm Europe’s commitment to human dignity, the rule of law,
and shared responsibility for refugee protection.
A call to European decision-makers
Members of the European Parliament, particularly those serving on the
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), have a
responsibility to ensure that EU migration policies comply with fundamental
rights and international law. Inaction in the face of foreseeable harm would
undermine the values on which the European Union is founded and expose
individuals to serious and avoidable risks.
Stand for protection, not deterrence
Asylum is a right, not a privilege.
Human dignity is not negotiable.
Europe must not outsource its responsibilities at the expense of
people’s lives.
We urge you to act now.
[Sign this petition to stop unlawful asylum transfers and uphold human
rights]
