Lhe fall of the Bashar Al-Assad regime in December 2024 provoked various reactions from European asylum offices; some have now considered calling into question the international protection enjoyed by Syrian nationals. The protection granted to refugees under the Geneva Convention is of a subsidiary nature. It replaces the protection that the country of origin must normally grant to its citizens in a rule of law.
It disappears when the circumstances having justified this substitution have disappeared, in particular when the rule of law is reestablished or the refugee, by an act of allegiance, demonstrates his desire to place himself again under the protection of the authorities of the country of origin. This is the case when he makes a trip there or establishes, without any constraint, contacts with his consular representation.
The French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) thus regularly cancels international protection when it is informed that the beneficiary has traveled to their country of origin without having previously informed the French authorities. For compelling and strictly humanitarian reasons, a refugee can obtain exceptional travel authorization in the country of origin, which takes the form of a safe conduct issued by the prefectures after submission of a file and examination of the risks incurred by the refugee. the applicant. These authorizations are a discretionary assessment by the administration.
The refugee dilemma
In a recent communication, the director general of Ofpra, Julien Boucher, announced that the examination of asylum applications from Syrian nationals was temporarily suspended pending further information on the evolution of the situation. in progress ; on the other hand, he was reassuring about the maintenance of the protections already granted.
The restoration of the rule of law in Syria involves the reactivation of an independent judicial organization, the restoration of public and individual freedoms, and an end to violence. Not only will these processes still take time, the country being completely devastated, but the chances of a rule of law in Syria can only be strengthened by the active participation of Syrian refugees from France in the new Syrian political life.
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