UNHCR URGES 'GENEROUS APPROACH' TO ALGERIAN ASYLUM SEEKERS
USIA
USIS Washington File
20 January 1998
UNHCR URGES 'GENEROUS APPROACH' TO ALGERIAN ASYLUM SEEKERS
(Rejected applicants may well be in danger if sent home) (360)
By Wendy Lubetkin
USIA European Correspondent
GENEVA -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
has urged countries of asylum to "take a generous approach" to the
cases of Algerians seeking refuge from the violence in their country
and to refrain from sending them back to Algeria.
"The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Mrs. Sadako Ogata, shares
the widely expressed alarm at the level of violence in Algeria," UNHCR
spokesperson Judith Kumin told a press briefing January 20. "She is
also deeply concerned about the fate of Algerian asylum-seekers and
urges all asylum countries to take a generous approach to Algerians
seeking refuge from the violence."
The high commissioner is concerned that some European countries only
consider as refugees those persons who fear persecution at the hands
of the state, Kumin explained.
"This restrictive approach affects Algerian asylum-seekers in
particular, as the majority have fled in the face of threats from
Islamic groups."
UNHCR said fear of persecution should mean "fear for one's life or
liberty, regardless of who the perpetrator is," and "asylum claims
should not be denied simply because the danger comes from non-state
agents."
Since so many rejections of Algerian asylum applications in Europe are
based on this narrow interpretation of who is a refugee, UNHCR is
concerned that many of the rejected Algerian applicants may indeed be
in danger upon their return.
The U.N. refugee agency noted that the overall number of Algerians
applying for refugee status in Europe is rather low. In 1996 there
were 5,060 applications from Algerians in 14 European countries. But
the number of successful applicants was even lower: only 190 Algerian
claimants were recognized as refugees in those same countries during
1996. Figures were not yet available for 1997 but are expected to be
similar.
UNHCR welcomed the fact that some countries have adopted arrangements
which allow Algerians to stay on a temporary basis, without entering
the asylum procedure.