Iraqis will no longer receive automatic asylum

By Thijs Bouwknegt*

Dutch Deputy Justice Minister Nebahat Albayrak says Iraqi refugees will no longer be granted automatic refugee status because the security situation in their country is improving. But organisations representing the interests of refugees say she has acted prematurely. 

Iraqi refugees who request political asylum in the Netherlands are automatically granted a temporary residence permit. However, Ms Albayrak says the situation in Iraq has improved, and each asylum seeker should be judged on an individual basis. People who have already received temporary asylum will have their status reviewed. However, special groups of refugees who face danger in Iraq – such as Christians and homosexuals – will receive protection.

Growth in number of Iraqi asylum seekers
At the beginning of the month several Dutch MPs protested against the rise in the number of asylum seekers from Iraq. There were 2,351 Iraqi asylum seekers in the first half of the year, a 40 percent increase over 2007. The rise is in part due to the implementation of stricter rules in other European countries which previously took in larger numbers of Iraqis.

The special status of asylum seekers from central and southern Iraq was introduced in March 2007. Refugees from these regions were not sent back but received a temporary residence permit. The special status does not apply to residents of northern Iraq, which is fairly peaceful, or to criminals or people charged with war crimes.

A safer Iraq?
Director Edwin Huizing of the Dutch refugee organisation Vluchtelingenwerk says that although there has been a decline in the level of violence in Iraq, the situation is still serious.

“The fact that there were previously 700 civilian fatalities a month and now ‘only’ 500 does not mean that the situation has structurally improved.”
 If Ms Albayrak’s proposal is accepted then every request for asylum will be reviewed on an individual basis. It is not permitted to repatriate people who will run the risk of being killed, tortured or prosecuted. Because of the current situation in Iraq, few Iraqis can return home at the moment, so the situation in the Netherlands will remain largely unchanged.

Last week, Deputy Minister Albayrak discussed the possible return of Iraqi asylum seekers with the Iraqi minister for migration. The minister said that his country would be glad to see its citizens return, but that it would need some support in accommodating them.
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/netherlands/080912-iraqi-refugees