It is not safe for Syrian refugees to return to their country. They risk ending up in prison, being raped or tortured, or disappearing without a trace. Amnesty International has come to this conclusion in a report entitled ‘You’re going to your death’.
The human rights organization spoke to dozens of Syrians and documented the stories of 66 ‘returnees’ between 2017 and 2021. Five of them died in captivity and the fate of 17 is unknown. Syrian women and children are also victims of sexual abuse. “Any government that claims Syria is now safe is knowingly ignoring the horrific reality and making refugees fear for their lives once again,” said Amnesty’s Marie Forestier.
The report is an indictment of countries that claim that parts of Syria, which have been raging for years, are safe. Specifically, Denmark, Sweden, Lebanon and Turkey are mentioned as countries that would not provide sufficient protection for Syrian refugees and exert pressure to return.
More than 12 million people have been displaced since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, about half of whom have fled abroad. Most of them reside in neighboring Turkey and Lebanon.
The Netherlands’ policy is that Syrians will not be returned for the time being. In a letter to the House of Representatives, State Secretary Broekers-Knol wrote this week that the security situation in parts of Syria has improved, but that “blatant human rights violations” are still taking place on a large scale by the Syrian government and other rulers in the country.
“A large number of security forces in Syria monitor all aspects of daily life in both the Syrian government-controlled area and the areas in the north under the control of various armed opposition factions,” Broekers-Knol wrote. Syrians face an unfair trial and risk severe torture and torture, the secretary of state said.
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