🧵 It is incredulous that within just days of the Assad regime's fall, a number of European countries, including Germany, Austria, Denmark, and others have announced pauses in the processing of asylum applications. (1)
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There are so many things European countries could have prioritized following an Assad regime fall, be it a surge of humanitarian and civil society aid, support for a peaceful political process, or technical support for those liberating prisons or exhuming mass graves. (2)
Instead, these countries have opted to articulate a policy priority that leaves already vulnerable asylum seekers in limbo, creates undue pressure on them to potentially return involuntarily, and may usher in problematic migration practices in violation of international law. (3)
By announcing asylum pauses with little clarity for those most impacted on what's next and what their status will be, European countries create pressure on refugees to consider returns that are not safe, not dignified, and not voluntary in violation of international law. (4)
Furthermore, for all asylum applications from a single country to be paused en masse violates the principle that asylum decisions must be made based on an individualized, case-by-case decision informed by personal circumstance. (5)
While some Syrians may be able to return to a post-Assad Syria immediately, others may only be able to do so with time, and others still may never be able to return. While Assad was a key perpetrator, he was certainly not the only driver of asylees. (6)
A post-Assad asylum pause ignores asylum seekers who are fleeing other drivers of asylum, including but not solely HTS, which has gotten more influential in recent days. It also erases those who seek asylum on other bases including religious practice and sexual orientation. (7)
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