Angela Eagle says Government will provide an update to Parliament 'as soon as possible'
The Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum, Angela Eagle, was today unable to confirm when the Home Office is expecting to resume processing asylum applications from Syrian nationals.
Image credit: Wikipedia Eagle said, however, that the Government would provide an update to Parliament "as soon as possible".
Asylum decisions on cases from Syria were paused on 9 December following the fall of the government of Bashar al-Assad. All Home Office country information and policy on Syria was also withdrawn.
In a written Parliamentary question last week, Labour MP Nadia Whittome asked the Home Secretary when decisions were expected to resume.
The Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum responded today, saying: "We keep all country guidance relating to asylum claims under constant review, so we can respond to emerging issues. Following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the Home Office has withdrawn the Country Policy Information Notes and Guidance relating to Syria. Consequently, as the Home Office continues to assess the current situation in Syria, the Home Office has temporarily paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims. We will provide a further update to Parliament as soon as possible."
On 16 December, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued a position paper on returns to Syria, urging all countries not to forcibly return Syrian nationals and to allow civilians fleeing Syria the right to seek asylum.
UNHCR also said that countries should suspend making negative decisions on Syrian asylum claims. The position paper states: "In view of the current uncertainty of the situation in Syria, UNHCR calls on asylum States to suspend the issuance of negative decisions on applications for international protection by Syrian nationals or by stateless persons who were former habitual residents of Syria. The suspension of the issuance of negative decisions should remain in place until such time as the situation in Syria has stabilized and reliable information about the security and human rights situation is available to make a full assessment of the need to grant refugee status to individual applicants."
In light of the rapidly changing situation in Syria, UNHCR said it was not yet in a position to provide detailed guidance to asylum decision-makers on the international protection needs of Syrians, but it would continue to monitor the situation closely and would provide more detailed guidance as soon as circumstances permit.