Poland has joined a growing list of European countries putting a halt to making asylum decisions for Syrians, after opposition rebels toppled the authoritarian regime of Syrian president Bashar-al Assad on Sunday.
Polish deputy interior minister Maciej Duszczyk announced the decision on the X platform on Tuesday.
"Until the situation in Syria is clarified, the Office for Foreigners will not issue decisions regarding Syrian citizens applying for international protection," he wrote.
The move comes as opposition rebels, led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), said on Sunday morning that they had captured the Syrian capital of Damascus and drove Bashar al-Assad out of the country, bringing an end to more than 53 years of the Assad family's authoritarian rule over Syria.
EU leaders have welcomed the end of the regime, which was supported by Russia, Iran and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, but have also acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead.
The decisions to put asylum requests on hold, which affects tens of thousands of open claims, reflects the rapidly changing political situation in Syria as well as a resurgence of right-wing parties across Europe keen to restrict immigration.
Germany opened its doors wide to a surge of asylum seekers in 2015 at the height of Syria's civil war, and is now home to nearly a million Syrians, the largest community in Europe.
The Berlin Interior Ministry said on Monday it would not process asylum requests until there was more clarity on political developments in Syria. Britain paused decisions on asylum claims as well, with the interior ministry saying it was assessing the situation.
Other countries including Norway, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands also announced suspensions of Syrian requests.
France said it hoped to announce a similar decision shortly.
"Until the situation in Syria is clarified, the Office for Foreigners will not issue decisions regarding Syrian citizens applying for international protection," he wrote.
The move comes as opposition rebels, led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), said on Sunday morning that they had captured the Syrian capital of Damascus and drove Bashar al-Assad out of the country, bringing an end to more than 53 years of the Assad family's authoritarian rule over Syria.
EU leaders have welcomed the end of the regime, which was supported by Russia, Iran and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, but have also acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead.
The decisions to put asylum requests on hold, which affects tens of thousands of open claims, reflects the rapidly changing political situation in Syria as well as a resurgence of right-wing parties across Europe keen to restrict immigration.
Germany opened its doors wide to a surge of asylum seekers in 2015 at the height of Syria's civil war, and is now home to nearly a million Syrians, the largest community in Europe.
The Berlin Interior Ministry said on Monday it would not process asylum requests until there was more clarity on political developments in Syria. Britain paused decisions on asylum claims as well, with the interior ministry saying it was assessing the situation.
Other countries including Norway, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands also announced suspensions of Syrian requests.
France said it hoped to announce a similar decision shortly.
Syrians top asylum seekers in Germany
Syria was the top country of origin for asylum seekers in Germany this year, with 72,420 applications submitted by the end of November, data from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) shows. Some 47,270 remain undecided.
The pausing of applications does not affect those already granted, according to the BAMF.
Germany is gearing up for a snap election in February, with far-right and conservative parties topping opinion polls.
A survey by German company Infratest published on Friday indicated that voters view migration as Germany's second-biggest problem after the economy.
Human rights groups respond
ProAsyl, a German group providing legal and practical assistance to asylum seekers, said it might take many months for clarity to emerge on Syria's security situation, potentially exceeding the six-month limit for a decision.
The UN’s refugee agency UNHCR published a statement on Tuesday in response to the decisions of European states to suspend asylum applications for Syrians. It said that suspension of asylum procedures is allowed “as long as people can apply for asylum and are able to lodge asylum applications.”
The agency also noted that Syrian asylum seekers “should continue to be granted the same rights as all other asylum-seekers" and “no asylum-seeker should be forcibly returned, as this would violate the non-refoulement obligation on[the] State.”
Source: Reuters
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