With the fall of the al-Assad regime in Syria, several European countries have frozen the processing of ongoing asylum applications. France could do the same.
Bashar al-Assad was ousted from power in Syria by the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. In Europe, this change in the political situation raises questions about the reception of Syrian migrants. As of December 9, Germany, the leading European country welcoming Syrians, decided to suspend the examination of current asylum applications. Countries such as the United Kingdom, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium and Norway have also opted for this choice. For its part, France is still considering it, but should do the same.
Since 2014, France has granted the right of asylum to more than 30,000 Syrians, according to the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons. Around 700 applications are currently being processed. Ofpra indicated that it was monitoring the situation in Syria “carefully”, adding that “this may lead to temporarily suspending decision-making on certain asylum requests from Syrian nationals, depending on the reasons given”.
If 8 million Syrians have already left under the regime of Bashar al-Assad, “it is possible that there will be departures of people who were close to the regime, who may rightly feel threatened by the Islamists ” just like “certain minorities”, explained Mustapha El-Miri, teacher-researcher at Aix-Marseille University, on BFMTV. Despite the absence of a government in France, the resigned Interior Ministry announced “working on a suspension of ongoing asylum files from Syria”, according to a source close to the file at Figarowith a decision taken “in the coming hours”.
A hasty decision?
If this decision can be taken by considering that the dictatorship which caused the Syrians to flee has fallen, it is above all the uncertainty regarding the new regime which is being put in place which could push for such a suspension. This Islamist republic that is being established raises fears that those who leave the country will be, for some, terrorists. This would then be a precautionary measure.
This possible suspension is not unanimous, being considered premature. The NGO Doctors of the World even believes that this would be “indecent”, sounding like “political exploitation”. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, for his part, called for “patience and vigilance” on the subject.
Concerning the return to Syria of refugees already in France, Jean-Noël Barrot, resigning Minister of Foreign Affairs, indicated that “their return could only be considered if they could return to their country in safety”. Which is not the case at the moment.