Denmark Refusing Syrians Asylum

While hundreds of deaths have been reported in Syria in the past year, the government of Denmark seemingly unconcerned has continued to tighten its immigration laws against refugees. The new regulation has caused a drastic decrease in the number of applicants for asylum in the country.  The number of refugees processed into Denmark in 2014 was 14,815. Although this number is a long shot from the more than 80,000 asylum seekers processed by Sweden, this number has now plummeted drastically in January 2015 due to the new restriction Demark has placed on asylum seekers from Syria and Eritrean. This has generated a lot of criticism from the UN, Amnesty International, and a lot of criticism from countries, concerned organizations and individuals. One is tempted to ask whether the people of Denmark have something against Eritreans or the Syrians who are fleeing death from the crisis in their homeland

The New Regulation

Figures from the Danish Immigration service showed that only 626 people applied for asylum in Denmark in January with half of them from Syria. This is a far cry from the 3,150 that applied as at September. This was after the country introduced a new residence permit that lasts only a year for asylum seekers fleeing the Syrian conflict or other civil wars. Although the new permit which came into action this year can be extended further by two years, family reunifications cannot be granted in the first year. In addition to this, the Danish Government has insisted that refugees must apply for asylum wherever they are first processed. This new regulations has been responsible for the drastic reduction in the number of applicant in January. If this continues then it is sure that Denmark will keep taking a lot less refugees that countries like Sweden who seem to have more than their fair-share.

Implications

The UNHCR’s regional head in northern Europe has said that it is important for Denmark to quickly realize that it has global responsibilities and Denmark cannot isolate itself. He explained that when things like wars or disasters happen, it is our collective responsibility to try and salvage the situation. According to her, Syrians are refugees under the international convention which makes them deserve to be granted asylum. For this reason she warned that refusal to grant them family reunion may be against international law.