Concern about the Danish decision regarding the return of Syrian refugees | Gulf newspaper

Copenhagen – Reuters

The Danish Refugee Appeals Board considered, on Friday, that the return of Syrian refugees to the Latakia governorate in the west of the country is safe, which raised concerns with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

When the Danish Immigration Service decides to withdraw a refugee’s residence permit, the case is automatically transferred to the Refugee Appeals Board, which is the highest authority in asylum cases in Denmark for consideration.

The Danish Refugee Appeals Board said, in a statement, that the improvement in the security situation in the province made it safe for refugees to return.

Since 2019, Denmark has revoked the residence permits of 150 Syrians from Damascus and the surrounding area among more than 1,300 cases reviewed, according to the Migration Service. A spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees described Denmark’s decision as “alarming” and said that the agency does not consider the improvement in the security situation in Syria sufficient to “justify the termination of international protection for any group of refugees.”

And in 2021, European lawmakers criticized Denmark for trying to return refugees to Damascus, after Danish authorities claimed that conditions in the capital had improved.

“We made it clear to the Syrian refugees that their residence permit is temporary, and that the permit may be canceled if the need for protection no longer exists,” Matthias Tesfaye, the Danish Minister of Immigration, said at the time.

Amnesty International said that Denmark and Hungary are the only two countries in the European Union that have revoked residence permits for Syrian refugees. These refugees are transferred in Denmark to return centers or leave the country voluntarily.