Netherlands explores plan to send rejected African asylum seekers to Uganda

The conservative Dutch government is weighing a plan to send rejected African asylum seekers to Uganda, the country's trade and development minister said late on Wednesday.

Reinette Klever unveiled the idea during a visit to the East African country, but it was not immediately clear whether such a plan would be legal or feasible, or whether Uganda would be amenable to it.

"We are open to any discussions," Ugandan Foreign Minister Jeje Odongo said in an interview with Dutch broadcaster NOS.

The plan follows a European trend to create "return hubs" outside the EU, housing rejected asylum seekers before returning them to their home countries.

UK has signed a migration treaty with Rwanda which seeks to send asylum seekers arriving illegally in the UK to Rwanda. Human rights groups argue the plan violates international law and puts vulnerable individuals at risk.