German minister proposes migrant 'approval' centres Under interior minister Thomas de Maiziere's proposal, which is not yet official German government policy, the new transit centres would be operated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which would allow genuine refugees fleeing war and persecution in their homelands to travel on to Europe, and turn economic migrants back. This would help ensure that "those deserving shelter are quickly allowed in," Mr de Maiziere told ZDF television. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said the proposals would provide refugees with "an alternative to the current perilous migration across the Mediterranean to Europe" and "help combat illegal migration, the inhuman business of trafficking gangs and the associated risks to refugees." But the German refugees' rights organisation Pro Asyl swiftly rejected the proposals. "Deaths would not be prevented in the Mediterranean," the NGO said in a statement. Detention centres that offer only a few refugees hope cannot prevent those seeking shelter from ending up shipwrecked in unseaworthy boats on their way to Europe. Syrian refugees Chalid Al Shaer and his daughter stand inside emergency accommodation for refugees in Fuerth, Germany (Getty) The organisation raised concerns over whether refugees would have a right to independent advice or representation by lawyers at transit centres outside European territory, and warned the proposals could leave genuine refugees stranded in North Africa with nowhere to go. Germany made similar proposals for refugee reception centres in North Africa in 2004, but the idea never got off the ground. Italy operated a formal agreement along similar lines with Libya for some years, but it was overturned by the European Court of Human Rights. It is not clear whether Mr de Maiziere's proposals would meet the same fate, or whether the UNHCR would be prepared to cooperate.