The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) has received formal notification from the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs informing it that the country’s Ministry of Justice informed the Parliament yesterday, June 30, 2020, that, based on the information contained in the latest report on Syria, which concluded, as we indicated in a previous statement, that the general security situation and human rights violations there which are primarily committed by the Syrian regime, as well as by other the parties to the conflict, remain a concern to the Ministry of Justice, and that, accordingly, there will be no change in the Netherlands’ policy on Syrian refugee protection. This means that when an application for asylum permission from a Syrian citizen is evaluated, whether it is for a limited or unlimited period, the applicant will be considered to be facing grave danger if he or she is returned to Syria, and accordingly, he or she deserves protection. It was also indicated in the communication from the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs that there are two main exceptions to this general principle:
Firstly: If the individual evaluation shows that there is no danger to this person returning, especially since he or she traveled voluntarily to Syria, then returned to the Netherlands without any harm.
Secondly: If the individual evaluation shows that the person who submitted the asylum had participated in activities supportive of the Syrian regime.
In its notification, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the SNHR for its effective contribution to the report of the country of origin on Syria. We issued a statement entitled:
“SNHR Is the Third Most Cited Information Source in the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Report on the General Situation in Syria Issued in May 2020”
In this statement, we outlined the most notable findings and recommendations in the report, and we welcomed the findings of the report, which confirmed that the conditions in Syria are unsuitable for the return of refugees due to continuing arrests, torture and confiscation of property.
