Safe Third Country Agreement

A Safe Third Country Agreement is an arrangement between countries that requires asylum seekers to apply for protection in the first safe country they reach, rather than traveling to another country that may have more favorable conditions. This means if someone arrives in a country that has signed such an agreement, they can be sent back to the first safe country, where they should have claimed asylum. The idea is to prevent "asylum shopping" and encourage responsible management of refugee flows while ensuring that individuals still have access to protection in safe places.