NGO Shocked with Croatia’s Asylum Policy

Interior Minister Božinović’s statement on asylum is scandalous, says a migrant rights association.

The Centre for Peace Studies said that a statement by Croatian Interior Minister Davor Božinović, that “to receive asylum, the first and basic precondition is a legal entry into Croatia,” was scandalous and inaccurate, reports Večernji List on December 31, 2017.

“We consider as inappropriate, such ignorance of the basic refugee law, and indirectly of the national legislation as well, which was drafted and whose implementation is primarily within the competence of the Interior Ministry,” says the Centre for Peace Studies in a statement titled “Ignorance or introduction of the Hungarian model?”

The Centre reacted to the Minister’s statement given of Friday confirming that a young Iraqi migrant who entered Croatia by hiding in a bus undercarriage had been returned to Serbia. “He has already been handed over to Serbian police officers,” Božinović said on Friday, explaining that everything had been done on the basis of a readmission agreement with the Republic of Serbia.

Asked if the 21-year-old, who was arrested without documents after he entered Croatia by spending hours under the bus, had asked for asylum, the Minister clarified that “to receive asylum, the first and basic precondition is a legal entry into Croatia.”

“Apart from the fact that there is no such condition listed in the entire Law on International and Provisional Protection, such claim is contrary to the relevant interpretations and documents, and to the practice itself. Most people who need protection and who meet the criteria laid down in the convention and the laws are not able to meet this requirement. This can be confirmed by decision-makers in the asylum procedure. You should just ask them how many people who came to Croatia looking for protection have entered the territory of the Republic of Croatia legally. Even a court in Luxembourg recently said that entries during the so-called refugee crisis were not legal. “Minister, does it mean that a million of people from Syria, Afghanistan and other countries should be denied the refugee status?” asked the Centre for Peace Studies.

They also pointed out that the Convention on the Status of Refugees and the Law on International and Provisional Protection, as two primary documents, even prescribed impunity in cases of unlawful border crossings if the person subsequently seeks protection. Additionally, during the asylum procedure, it is determined whether the person is eligible for asylum and that process does not depend on the manner in which the person had entered the country. Also, they also quote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, which prescribe the right to seek refuge in other countries in cases of persecution.

“Of course, there is a right to seek protection, but not to receive it in all cases. In Croatia, we are returning to the fundamental elements – allowing access to the territory and the asylum system,” said the Centre for Peace Studies, pointing out they were still waiting for the Minister to answer their question about whether the young man from Iraq, who entered Croatia by hiding in the bus undercarriage, was informed about his right to seek international protection.

Translated from Večernji List.

 

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