Ofpra will “defer” the examination of 700 asylum applications from Syrian nationals “completely independently” so as “not to make hasty decisions”

Asylum requests from Syrian nationals in France will be deferred “to be able to make an informed decision in accordance with the situation on site”, declares the director of Ofpra.

The French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra), will “differ” the examination of 700 asylum applications from Syrian nationals in France “to be able to make an informed decision in accordance with the situation on site”declared its director Julien Boucher on Tuesday, December 10, on Franceinfo. “It’s a skill that belongs to Ofpra” Who “is responsible for ruling in complete independence on asylum requests”, he emphasizes. “Things are very clear,” he adds.

The fall of Bashar al-Assad's bloodthirsty regime has pushed several European countries to suspend the examination of asylum requests from Syrian exiles. France says it is considering it without giving further details. “It’s a decision that is logical and even necessary for making quality decisions”he said. On the other hand, “what appears premature, at this stage, is the question of return for people who are already under protection, who have already obtained asylum”he explains.

“It’s not a question of saying that we’re not going to make a decision. Obviously, we’re going to rule on the requests that are in progress,” but it is “to postpone the decision in order to be able to make an informed decision in accordance with the situation on site”, he explains. “We cannot leave people without answers for too long.” specifies Julien Boucher.

The director of Ofpra returned precisely to the number of Syrian refugees in France: “Currently, there are approximately 45,000 Syrian nationals placed under the protection of OFPRA” Who “have obtained asylum in France”, particularly since the start of the civil war in 2011. Currently, “We have received around 2,500 applications from Syrian nationals. There are around 700 currently being examined by Ofpra. Requests on which we have not yet ruled”underlines Julien Boucher. 2,500 requests out of more than 180,000 requests on a European scale.

The fall of a regime requires the analysis of significant changes in a country of origin of asylum seekers: “We need to give ourselves a little perspective to appreciate the consequences of this change and not make hasty decisions on the requests that are currently being examined,” he explains. One thing is sure, “as long as we have not ruled on the asylum request, people benefit from the principle of non-refoulement which means that a person is not sent back to their country”he assures.