'no fault' policy asylum seekers not eased

The government is not going to ease the policy for asylum seekers who can not return to their country of origin for reasons beyond their control.Rtl and Telegraaf announced that the Cabinet is expected to reach a decision on this matter on Friday.

After Russian activist Alexander Dolmatov committed suicide in his cell, State Secretary Fred Teeven promised parliament to come up with a plan for a more humane asylum policy.

The Inspection of Safety and Justice concluded that a string of mistakes in the asylum procedures preceded the drama.  The case led to a heated debate in parliament.

In the new policy, asylum seekers are less likely to be detained and are allowed more freedom in detention . Also a stricter regime would be put into place for recurring trouble makers, and activities would be organized to make time in detention more bearable.

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The number of cells, available for asylum detention would be halved. Detention at the airport would be limited. Currently asylum seekers are immediately detained. In the new regimen families with children will be offered alternative shelter.

The Advisory Committee on Aliens Affairs (ACVZ) previously advised not to expand the 'no fault' policy.

There were no cases where an asylum seeker met the conditions, but wasn't issued a permit, according to Adriana van Dooijeweert, ACVZ chairman, at the presentation of the report in July.

The policy should only apply to those who really can not return. Also, only a few countries refuse to take back their nationals.

Some countries do not accept nationals who are forced to return, but according to the committee an important condition for the 'no fault' authorization is that an applicant has truly done everything to voluntarily return.

The Advisory Committee further stated that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) must be more consistent in implementing the policy .

Uncertainty about the conditions caused similar cases to be handled differently and in many cases rejections were not well motivated.