What is changing?

The idea is to place people who are subject to final return decisions in facilities located outside the European Union. EU institutions reached a provisional agreement on a new Return Regulation in June 2026, and the European Parliament adopted its first-reading position later that month.

The framework allows agreements with third countries, but those arrangements remain bound by international human-rights standards, including the principle of non-refoulement.

Why non-refoulement matters

Non-refoulement means a person cannot be sent to a country where they face a real risk of persecution, torture, or inhuman or degrading treatment. It also protects against so-called chain refoulement, where a person is first moved to a third country and then expelled onward to danger.

European courts have repeatedly made clear that a government can be held responsible for foreseeable harm caused by a transfer even when the harm occurs outside its own territory.

Sending someone abroad does not make the legal consequences disappear.

Why LGBTIQ+ applicants may face a different level of risk

A country can appear “safe” in general while still being dangerous for people because of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or sex characteristics. That is why LGBTIQ+ applicants may need a more detailed assessment than a generic country label provides.

Risk factors can include criminalization, police abuse, family violence, hate crimes, lack of safe housing, hostile detention conditions, limited access to healthcare, and weak protection against discrimination.

Ecuadorian attorney and psychologist Diane Rodríguez, President of Asociación Silueta X and a specialist in human rights and forced mobility, argues that the key question is not whether a country is broadly stable, but whether it is safe for the specific person being transferred.

The precedents Europe cannot ignore

The UK’s Rwanda plan was declared unlawful by the British Supreme Court in 2023 because of a real risk of refoulement. Italy’s arrangement with Albania has also faced repeated judicial scrutiny.

Those cases show that political agreements do not end the legal debate. Courts can still examine whether safeguards are real, whether detention is lawful, and whether applicants have meaningful access to remedies.

Silueta X calls for early documentation

Asociación Silueta X is emphasizing prevention. Before any LGBTIQ+ person is transferred, advocates should have access to country-condition reports, documented risk factors, legal analysis, and where appropriate, psychological evidence.

Diane Rodríguez works on expert country reports, technical-legal support letters, and risk analysis for international-protection cases. Her work combines legal and forensic perspectives but does not replace local legal representation in the country where the case is being handled.