Rwanda in talks with Italy to take in migrants trying to reach EU

Rwanda-Italy Talks Confirmed

Rwanda has confirmed that it is in talks with the Italian government about potentially hosting people seeking asylum in the EU, two days after Italy proposed setting up a network of migrant reception centres outside the bloc.

"We are still in discussions," Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told Royal FM on Thursday, stressing that no deal had yet been reached. She said one idea being considered was the expansion of an emergency programme to host migrants evacuated from Libya in a transit centre in the south of Rwanda. Developed with the African Union and the UN refugee agency in 2019, the programme provides asylum seekers with medical care and other support while their case is processed, before either returning to their home countries or resettling elsewhere.

Italy's Proposal and EU Context

Rome presented its proposal for "return hubs" in countries outside the EU at an emergency meeting of EU interior ministers on Tuesday, called after tens of thousands of people crossed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco in a bid to reach Europe. The proposed centres would be financed by the EU and run jointly with other EU members, according to RFI. Other African countries, including Uganda and Ghana, are also being considered to host the facilities.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has advocated for Albania-style centres in African countries and more generally in countries of origin and transit, ahead of the emergency EU talks prompted by the Ceuta arrivals, as reported by Politico. New EU legislation allows countries to send failed asylum-seekers to so-called return hubs outside the bloc.

Italy already operates migrant detention centres in Albania, which house people applying for asylum in Italy while their claims are processed or after they have been rejected.

Rwanda's Migration Agreements

Rwanda has prior migration agreements, including a 2022 deal with the UK to take in asylum seekers transferred there, which was abandoned in 2024. Kigali took the UK to court seeking payment of millions of pounds it said it was owed from the abandoned deal, but international arbitrators in The Hague rejected the claim. In August 2025, Rwanda signed a deal with the United States to temporarily host up to 250 people deported from the US, with a grant paid by Washington.

Amnesty International's Concerns

Amnesty International said the human rights of people held in Italy's migrant detention hubs in Albania are not being protected, and warned the EU to reconsider the use of return hubs.

"It is abundantly clear that the Italy-Albania model is impossible to implement in line with Italy's human rights obligations," said Eve Geddie, director of Amnesty International's European Institutions Office, as the NGO launched a report on the deal between Rome and Tirana. "This reality must be a wake-up call for the EU to put any future plans to expand the use of offshore detention and other externalization tools firmly on ice," she said.

Italy has two migration centers in Albania, including one in the village of Gjadër set up in 2024. Initially built as a detention center for migrants intercepted in international waters, the government decided in 2025 to use it to house male asylum seekers who had been ordered to leave Italy and were awaiting deportation. According to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, more than 500 people have been sent there.

According to the Amnesty report, 42 "critical" incidents were recorded between April 11 and May 16, 2025, in the Gjadër center, including self-harm, at least two suicide attempts by hanging, and a violent protest. The report raised concerns about "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" during transfers to the hub and warned that detention in Albania "significantly undermines" people's right to seek asylum and justice, as they have limited access to lawyers and courts. Amnesty also said the selection process for transfers isn't transparent and could be "discriminatory or punitive," and that the Italian government obstructed independent monitoring, including by restricting parliamentary oversight and bypassing ordinary legislative processes.

Amnesty based its research on correspondence with the Italian interior ministry, court documents, civil society networks, reports by MPs and watchdogs, and interviews with UN agencies and lawyers, as it was denied access to the centers. The Italian government did not respond to a request for comment from Politico.

Legal and Judicial Scrutiny

The Italy-Albania arrangement has faced legal challenges. A Rome court ruled in 2024 that the first group of migrants sent to Albania could not be detained offshore because their countries of origin, Bangladesh and Egypt, could not be considered safe. In a non-binding opinion, a top adviser to the EU Court of Justice argued that EU law doesn't prevent a country from setting up offshore detention centers for failed asylum-seekers if migrants' rights are fully protected.

Perspectives

Amnesty International: The Italy-Albania model is impossible to implement within human rights obligations; conditions in existing centers should serve as a wake-up call for the EU to freeze plans for expanding offshore detention.

Italian Government: Did not respond to a request for comment on the Amnesty report; continues to pursue return hubs outside the EU as part of its migration policy.