“Doable if the will is there”
Djir-Sarai insists on outsourcing asylum procedures
January 6, 2024, 1:34 p.m
Asylum applications from people seeking protection in Germany should in future take place in third countries – the Union in particular has recently pushed for this. Now FDP General Secretary Djir-Sarai is also calling for such a model. He has no concerns about possible human rights and international law violations.
FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai is pushing for asylum procedures in third countries such as Rwanda. Djir-Sarai told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung” that he thought very highly of such a model. “Some have legal concerns about this, but these can be addressed.” Such an approach is not tenable if the third country – for example Rwanda – is in charge of the asylum procedures. “But if, for example, the UN refugee agency were to take control, then the legal assessment would be different.”
When asked whether admission procedures could be outsourced to Rwanda without violating the Geneva Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights, the Secretary General said: “It is possible if there is the will to do so.” This will did not exist before the current government. Djir-Sarai also emphasized that it was not about keeping people away from Europe. Rather, those who are really entitled to protection should receive help.
Basically, the FDP politician cited role models such as New Zealand, Canada and Australia, which pursued an interest-based migration policy. “Migration into the labor market is desired, but not into the social security systems. That’s what makes these countries successful. Germany has to achieve that too.” Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the heads of government of the federal states agreed at the beginning of November that the federal government would examine whether asylum procedures were possible outside of Europe.