Coalition parties want to send asylum seekers back to Syria

The coalition parties want the government to investigate whether parts of Syria can be declared safe so that Syrian asylum seekers can be sent back. PVV leader Geert Wilders wants a debate on the topic next month and he is finding support in the other coalition parties, Trouw reports.

Wilders wants the Netherlands to declare Syria, or at least parts of the country, safe so that “the Netherlands will in principle no longer grant Syrians a residency permit.” Syrians form the largest group of asylum seekers in the Netherlands, and their applications are also granted most often.

The NSC is less outspoken on the matter than Wildners, but MP Diederik Boomsma pointed out that if parts of the country are safe, certain refugees can return. “If there are signals that people can live there safely again, they are no longer entitled to protection. It is not ideal, but we have to be strict about who we let in,” he told Trouw. “So we will certainly submit that to the Minister.”

The BBB pointed to a ruling by the court of Münster in Germany, which said last month that parts of Syria are safe enough to return. “We are curious to see what our government will say about this in the next official report,” BBB parliamentarian Claudia van Zanten said. “The international treaties state that refugees may be sent back to safe areas.” According to Van Zanten, the “influx of asylum seekers to the Netherlands must decrease,” and not granting refugee status to asylum seekers from safe countries has a deterrent effect.

The VVD wants to wait for the next safety analysis on Syria before making statements about sending refugees and asylum seekers back. However, the party points out that there have been discussions in parliament for some time about declaring regions, instead of entire countries, safe. It is also part of the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB’s coalition agreement.

The safety report is based on information from the Dutch embassy and other local sources. The VVD expects it this autumn. The last official Dutch report on Syria dates from August last year and states that the security situation in the city of Damascus and parts of the province of Latakia has improved. The previous Cabinet did not consider this a reason to adjust the policy because Syrians who fled the country because of the Assad regime were still at risk.