Netherlands looking to send asylum seekers back to “safe” parts of Syria

Syrian asylum seekers may be required to return to a safe part of their home country instead of being granted a residence permit in the Netherlands, writes Asylum Minister Bart van den Brink in a letter to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament. The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) will evaluate each individual case to determine if such a return is feasible.

Until recently, returning asylum seekers was not an option because Syria was deemed entirely unsafe. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports that violence declined last year. Even so, the situation is still described as "fragile," particularly in Suweida province, and the ministry has not identified any specific areas as safe.

The ministry has not concluded that improvements in human rights are permanent. As a result, Syrians who already hold residence permits will not undergo a review for the time being.

The IND will place greater emphasis on evaluating the dangers confronting the Druze, a religious minority in Syria, who are frequently subjected to violence.

VluchtelingenWerk Nederland believes it is too early to speak of safe returns to Syria. "The security situation changes rapidly by region and is unstable," the organization states. It also notes that only 6 percent of asylum applications from Syrians in the Netherlands are approved.

VluchtelingenWerk does welcome the additional attention being given to the safety of Druze. "This was previously already the case for Alawites and LGBTQ+ individuals. At the same time, we are concerned about other ethnic and religious minorities that are not yet specifically mentioned. Returning could also be dangerous for these groups."