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Reuters AlertNet, UK
May 4 2005
Revocation procedures alarm Iraqi refugees in Germany
04 May 2005 15:07:15 GMT
Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees
BERLIN, May 4 (UNHCR) - The official letter came as complete shock:
Haraj Y. could not believe what he was seeing. The Armenian Christian
from Basra in southern Iraq had been living as a recognized refugee
in Germany for more than three years. During that time he had made
intensive efforts to get permission for his wife and children to
rejoin him in Germany. His dependants are at present staying in Amman,
where they were given mandate refugee status by the local UNHCR office.
However, instead of receiving the eagerly awaited approval for his
family's reunion from the German authorities, the letter told him that
his own refugee status was about to be revoked. The reason: since the
fall of Saddam Hussein, the original grounds for his flight from Iraq
did not apply anymore. Under this logic, it isn't just Haraj who is
affected: most Iraqi citizens apparently no longer need protection.
More than 18,000 refugees in Germany, most of them Iraqis, are now
subject to so-called revocation procedures. The basis for these
proceedings is a regulation in the German Asylum Procedure Law which
says that positive decisions have to be revoked without delay if
the preconditions for granting asylum have ceased to exist. This
regulation plays an even more important role under the new German
immigration law, which came into force at the beginning of this year.
As a result, the German authorities must now reconsider whether or
not an individual is still in need of protection three years after
he or she has been granted refugee status through the asylum process.
The mass issue of revocation notices is causing considerable alarm
among Iraqi exiles in Germany, who number about 84,000 in total,
including over 35,000 formally recognized refugees - more than in
any other European country.
"The thought of having to return fills me with terrible fear. I was
just four years old when my family left Iraq. My Arabic is very poor,
and so is my Kurdish," says Jastin A., a Feili Kurd whose family
spent a long time in Iran before fleeing to Germany.
Jastin turned to the UNHCR office in Berlin for help, as has Hikmat
K., an Iraqi who was granted asylum, together with his family, eight
years ago. "I have learnt here to speak my mind openly, even about
religion. In Iraq, I fear that would cost me my life."
For the affected people and families, there is a lot at stake,
even if - as the German authorities frequently emphasize - they do
not have to fear automatic deportation to their country of origin if
they lose their refugee status. At present no deportations are being
carried out from Germany to Iraq.
Even so, a revocation has far-reaching consequences: the affected
refugee will only be tolerated in Germany on a short-term basis and
will be obliged, in principle, to leave the country. It can mean the
loss of a job or training/education placement. Furthermore, his or
her freedom of movement will suddenly be highly restricted.
"We are very concerned about this development," says Stefan Berglund,
UNHCR's Representative in Germany, pointing out that because of the
prevailing situation in Iraq, UNHCR's position remains that no pressure
of any form should be put on Iraqis to return to their native country.
Iraq is still very unstable. The security situation is extremely
poor and unpredictable in parts of the country, and economic and
humanitarian conditions remain very difficult. Since the end of the
war two years ago, several hundred thousand Iraqis, according to
unofficial estimates, have left the country for Syria and Jordan.
Because of the security situation, UNHCR and other agencies are not
in a position either to monitor the safety of returnees, or even to
say with any certainty who is at risk in the new Iraq.
"It is for these reasons that we say people should only go back
voluntarily, and not be pressurized to make that decision. It is simply
too early to deprive Iraqis of their refugee status. After all, this
also means they lose basic human and social rights," says Berglund.
The actual situation in Iraq, as well as some fundamental reservations
concerning the revocation practice in Germany, has stimulated UNHCR
to place this issue at the heart of its frequent discussions with the
German authorities. The crucial point is how to interpret the 1951 UN
Refugee Convention, which stipulates that refugee status should cease
when the conditions in the country of origin have changed fundamentally
for the long term and the returnees can expect effective protection
by the authorities of the country of origin. The return itself must
proceed in safety and dignity.
"The revocation proceedings in Germany do not adequately take account
of these conditions. However, they must be met, according to the 1951
Convention, before the refugee status of an individual can be revoked,"
explains Berglund.
So far, about 9,000 Iraqis have had their refugee status revoked.
Many of them have turned to the courts for protection. Consequently,
UNHCR has sent letters to all Higher Administrative Courts, explaining
in detail the discrepancies between the German revocation practice
and the procedure laid down in the 1951 Convention.
The complex legal arguments in these letters pursue a quite simple
objective: to do justice to those refugees whose need for protection
has not expired in tandem with Saddam's regime. As Hikmat K. puts it,
he just wants to ensure that the "human dimension" of his and his
family's case is recognized.
By Stefan Teloeken UNHCR Germany
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
May 4 2005
Revocation procedures alarm Iraqi refugees in Germany
04 May 2005 15:07:15 GMT
Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees
BERLIN, May 4 (UNHCR) - The official letter came as complete shock:
Haraj Y. could not believe what he was seeing. The Armenian Christian
from Basra in southern Iraq had been living as a recognized refugee
in Germany for more than three years. During that time he had made
intensive efforts to get permission for his wife and children to
rejoin him in Germany. His dependants are at present staying in Amman,
where they were given mandate refugee status by the local UNHCR office.
However, instead of receiving the eagerly awaited approval for his
family's reunion from the German authorities, the letter told him that
his own refugee status was about to be revoked. The reason: since the
fall of Saddam Hussein, the original grounds for his flight from Iraq
did not apply anymore. Under this logic, it isn't just Haraj who is
affected: most Iraqi citizens apparently no longer need protection.
More than 18,000 refugees in Germany, most of them Iraqis, are now
subject to so-called revocation procedures. The basis for these
proceedings is a regulation in the German Asylum Procedure Law which
says that positive decisions have to be revoked without delay if
the preconditions for granting asylum have ceased to exist. This
regulation plays an even more important role under the new German
immigration law, which came into force at the beginning of this year.
As a result, the German authorities must now reconsider whether or
not an individual is still in need of protection three years after
he or she has been granted refugee status through the asylum process.
The mass issue of revocation notices is causing considerable alarm
among Iraqi exiles in Germany, who number about 84,000 in total,
including over 35,000 formally recognized refugees - more than in
any other European country.
"The thought of having to return fills me with terrible fear. I was
just four years old when my family left Iraq. My Arabic is very poor,
and so is my Kurdish," says Jastin A., a Feili Kurd whose family
spent a long time in Iran before fleeing to Germany.
Jastin turned to the UNHCR office in Berlin for help, as has Hikmat
K., an Iraqi who was granted asylum, together with his family, eight
years ago. "I have learnt here to speak my mind openly, even about
religion. In Iraq, I fear that would cost me my life."
For the affected people and families, there is a lot at stake,
even if - as the German authorities frequently emphasize - they do
not have to fear automatic deportation to their country of origin if
they lose their refugee status. At present no deportations are being
carried out from Germany to Iraq.
Even so, a revocation has far-reaching consequences: the affected
refugee will only be tolerated in Germany on a short-term basis and
will be obliged, in principle, to leave the country. It can mean the
loss of a job or training/education placement. Furthermore, his or
her freedom of movement will suddenly be highly restricted.
"We are very concerned about this development," says Stefan Berglund,
UNHCR's Representative in Germany, pointing out that because of the
prevailing situation in Iraq, UNHCR's position remains that no pressure
of any form should be put on Iraqis to return to their native country.
Iraq is still very unstable. The security situation is extremely
poor and unpredictable in parts of the country, and economic and
humanitarian conditions remain very difficult. Since the end of the
war two years ago, several hundred thousand Iraqis, according to
unofficial estimates, have left the country for Syria and Jordan.
Because of the security situation, UNHCR and other agencies are not
in a position either to monitor the safety of returnees, or even to
say with any certainty who is at risk in the new Iraq.
"It is for these reasons that we say people should only go back
voluntarily, and not be pressurized to make that decision. It is simply
too early to deprive Iraqis of their refugee status. After all, this
also means they lose basic human and social rights," says Berglund.
The actual situation in Iraq, as well as some fundamental reservations
concerning the revocation practice in Germany, has stimulated UNHCR
to place this issue at the heart of its frequent discussions with the
German authorities. The crucial point is how to interpret the 1951 UN
Refugee Convention, which stipulates that refugee status should cease
when the conditions in the country of origin have changed fundamentally
for the long term and the returnees can expect effective protection
by the authorities of the country of origin. The return itself must
proceed in safety and dignity.
"The revocation proceedings in Germany do not adequately take account
of these conditions. However, they must be met, according to the 1951
Convention, before the refugee status of an individual can be revoked,"
explains Berglund.
So far, about 9,000 Iraqis have had their refugee status revoked.
Many of them have turned to the courts for protection. Consequently,
UNHCR has sent letters to all Higher Administrative Courts, explaining
in detail the discrepancies between the German revocation practice
and the procedure laid down in the 1951 Convention.
The complex legal arguments in these letters pursue a quite simple
objective: to do justice to those refugees whose need for protection
has not expired in tandem with Saddam's regime. As Hikmat K. puts it,
he just wants to ensure that the "human dimension" of his and his
family's case is recognized.
By Stefan Teloeken UNHCR Germany
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress