Reply #3: Human Rights Watch: Safety of Failed Netherlands Asylum Seekers at Risk [View All]

[Jack Rabbit]

Press release from Human Rights Watch
Dateline Friday February 13

Netherlands: Safety of Failed Asylum Seekers at Risk
Planned Deportations Would Put Thousands in Danger, Violate International Law

Dutch proposals to deport thousands of failed asylum seekers put their safety at risk, Human Rights Watch said today. The Dutch parliament is expected to adopt the proposals in a final vote next week.
The Dutch government’s proposals to deport as many as 26,000 failed asylum seekers, which would violate international standards, signal a serious departure from the Netherlands’ historic role as a leader in human rights protection in Europe, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Dutch Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk.
The failed asylum seekers—including children—would be deported over the next three years. Many have been in the asylum process for years, and include Somalis, Afghans, Chechens, and stateless persons. Human Rights Watch is concerned that sending people back to states without a functioning government, such as Somalia, or to states otherwise insecure due to continuing post-conflict violence, like Afghanistan, would place their safety at risk.

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