Request for asylum Afghan families are no longer refused

Asylum claims made by Afghan families with minor children are no longer refused because they could settle in another part of Afghanistan. That's what Secretary of State Mark Harbers (Justice and Security, VVD) wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The asylum applications of Afghan families have so far been denied because they could settle in a safer part of the country, such as Kabul. But according to the secretary of state "this does not apply to everyone". "This is not obvious for families with minor children," according to the secretary of state. He describes the security situation as "complex and diffuse in many ways."

To learn more about the State Council decision: The expulsion of Afghan asylum seekers continues

Vulnerable Groups

Moreover, the policy of 39, asylum for Afghanistan remains intact. According to the European Court of Human Rights, the security situation is "worrying", but anyone who returns "only because of his presence" runs a real risk. Some groups such as ethnic minorities, LGBTI people, converts and apostates, journalists and people working in an NGO have been designated as "at-risk groups".

The State Council ruled in March that Afghanistan was safe enough to deport asylum seekers. The security situation was "disturbing" but not "exceptional". Two Afghan men had lodged a complaint because they claimed that their asylum application had been unfairly rejected. The State Council said the men were wrong. 850 Afghans were deported last year.

In Afghanistan, regular attacks take place. According to the state secretary, there are "battles across the country between government forces and various warring parties, including the Taliban and the Islamic State". In January, for example, nearly a hundred people were killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul. During a suicide attack in March, at least 29 people were killed.

For more information on the increase of violence in Afghanistan: Heavy attacks in Afghanistan succeed one another more and more quickly