Lawyers and aid organizations are very concerned about the agreements surrounding the new Moria deal, writes Faithful. Refugees will soon have to tell about their flight motive upon arrival, without the assistance of a lawyer.
Last Thursday, the coalition parties concluded the Moria agreement. Due to the exceptional situation, it was decided to take in 100 refugees from the burned camp. In exchange for this, other rules regarding the asylum procedure will be tightened.
To speed up the procedure, asylum seekers will soon have to tell about their flight motive immediately upon arrival, without a lawyer. This can lead to refugees telling their story only partially or not, says spokesman Evita Bloemheuvel of the Refugee Foundation in conversation with NU.nl.
“For example, when you arrive as a homosexual from a country subject to the death penalty, we are afraid that these people will have a different story against a government that they do not know whether they can trust.”
‘Is at the expense of legal position’
Once in the Netherlands, asylum seekers are often asked a number of questions during a key register, including about their identity and the country of origin.
Later, an official interview about the flight motif will follow, with the assistance of a lawyer. With the coalition plans, the two hearings are merged and pushed forward, without the assistance of a lawyer.
This means that the legal aid that is now in the system will be “abolished”, says asylum lawyer Wil Eikelboom. Twitter.
Why does a refugee need a lawyer?
“You may think: why does an asylum seeker need a lawyer. He only needs to tell the truth,” says Eikelboom.
“But then you do not know how complex the asylum procedure is,” said Eikelboom, referring to the high demands that the Immigration and Naturalization Dens (IND) imposes on flight stories and evidence. These must, among other things, be very detailed, without contradictions, vagueness or inconsistencies. “And then a mistake once made or forgetting to tell something can be fatal,” says Eikelboom.
“The things you said during the registration interview can be used against you. This is at the expense of the legal position of asylum seekers,” says asylum lawyer Ali Agayev against Faithful.
Backlog at IND is already great
The plan benefits efficiency and according to the new plan the stories may be adjusted later, State Secretary Ankie Broekers-Knol writes in a letter to the Lower House. But Eikelboom and Bloemhof fear that lawyers and IND employees will have even more work to do with correcting the flight stories.
Asylum seekers already have to wait one and a half to two years for the first interview due to backlogs at the IND, writes Faithful. Asylum lawyers have been arguing for years for legal aid to be brought forward in the process.
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