Europe is in the middle of a major shift in the policies towards Syrian refugees, creating tensions between humanitarian responsibility and national interest. Germany, Austria, and Sweden, for example, recently halted asylum decisions for Syrian refugees because the situation in Syria is changing. Austria in turn has taken things even further with plans for deportation, triggering harsh criticism and fears over international law compliance.
According to Enab Baladi, In Britain, the Home Office has put Syrian asylum applications on hold until the situation in Syria could be reassessed. Finland and the Netherlands are similarly processing asylum claims due to rapid and evolving reshufflings in security and political climate. The decisions follow a wider trend in Europe, with Denmark and Italy attempting to designate certain regions of Syria, notably Damascus, as secure for return, a description challenged by some human rights organizations. Earlier in 2021, Denmark’s redefinition of the capital of Syria as “safe” led to residency permits being revoked for some Syrians, causing heightened fears among refugees.
According to Politico, Such policies, they say, violate the non-refoulement rule in the 1951 Geneva Convention against sending refugees back to where they face serious harm. They say Syria is not safe, with the UNHCR and Amnesty International citing continued violence, arbitrary detention, and the nature of the systematic human rights violations perpetrated by Bashar Assad’s regime. On their website, the Syrian Network for Human Rights has highlighted the danger for returning refugees, noting incidents of detention and abuse are even taking place in supposedly “safe” areas.
According to New Arab, Such policy shifts are attributed by experts to increased political pressure from far-right elements across Europe, pushing for a tougher immigration stance against a backdrop of wider geopolitical upheaval with the Ukraine and Sudan wars raging on. Austria and Italy are among the nations that have sought openings to normalize with the Assad regime, in what critics decry as sacrificing the lives of refugees for political convenience. The European Union, on the other hand, is still split, with numerous member nations opposed to declaring Syria altogether safe and calling for full and individual risk evaluations before any compulsory repatriations.
This changing landscape subjects refugees to greater fears of deportation and inhibits access to integration into host societies. Supporters of international collaboration argue Europe must respond collectively based on international law and human rights, and that it cannot deport Syrian refugees before the conflict has truly ended, as this would exacerbate the humanitarian crisis and violate Europe’s legal and moral obligations.
