Following in Denmark's footsteps: Britain rejects asylum applications from Syrians, Yemenis, and Afghans, claiming their countries are safe.
The Interior Ministry tells Afghan and Yemeni asylum seekers they can return safely
This is how the British Guardian opened its report on Thursday, January 13, 2022
The newspaper's report considered the Home Office's rejection of the two asylum applications a violation of British regulations prohibiting forced deportations to Yemen, Afghanistan, and Syria.
She noted that the 36-year-old Yemeni and the 21-year-old Afghan received messages from government officials stating that their return to their respective countries would not endanger their lives.
The revelation of the two men's case comes days after the newspaper reported on another case in which a 25-year-old Syrian man was refused permission to return to Syria, which is no longer at war, despite government and UNHCR guidelines warning of the dangers of refugees returning to countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, and Yemen.
The Syrian man, who applied for asylum in Britain in 2020, received a letter from an official at the Home Office informing him that his application had been rejected and that he would not be in danger if he returned to Syria, as he had deserted from compulsory military service in 2017 because he did not want to participate in killing Syrians. The official said that “if he returns to Syria again, he will be considered a deserter from compulsory service and will be imprisoned or killed.”.
Despite the Interior Ministry's acknowledgment of his desertion from military service, the rejection letter emphasized that "it is unacceptable that you will face risks of persecution or serious harm if you return to the Syrian Arab Republic because of your alleged political opinion as a deserter from the army.".
On the day the Guardian asked the Home Office for comment, his lawyer received a letter rescinding the decision: “It has been concluded that the decision to refuse protection to your client was not based on the Home Office’s published State Policy position and has therefore been withdrawn with the possibility of granting asylum.”.
A Yemeni asylum seeker received a similar rejection letter in June 2021, telling him he could return to his country because officials at the Interior Ministry “reject the idea that there are problems in Yemen.” The man works as an accountant, is married with two children, and suffers from physical and psychological problems. However, the rejection letter states, “There are large public health programs in Yemen,” even though the health system in Yemen is dilapidated and non-existent in parts of the country, according to the newspaper.
The asylum seeker commented, “I felt depressed and disappointed by the decision; everything about Yemen is a disaster.” His lawyer filed an appeal, but there are delays in the case review process, and his lawyer has not yet been informed of the appeal date.
In a third case, a 16-year-old Afghan youth arrived in Britain after escaping compulsory recruitment into Taliban religious schools. The Home Office told him it wanted to cancel his refugee status and that he could return to Afghanistan because of his conviction for cannabis-related offenses. The Home Office letter, dated December 15, 2021, states that the Taliban are the new authority in Afghanistan.
She adds: “It is no longer seen that they (the Taliban) would care about a low-level person like you.” While the UNHCR said it could not comment on individual cases, it called on states to suspend the forced return of political refugees to “countries that are still unstable and lack sufficient security or cannot provide adequate protection for human rights.”.
The UNHCR spokesperson said, “Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria are among the countries to which the UNHCR recommends avoiding forced returns. While violence has decreased in Afghanistan, there is an urgent humanitarian crisis that makes forced returns inappropriate. In both Yemen and Syria, the acute humanitarian crisis is compounded by conflict and insecurity.”
