Question 5833 — refugees and stateless persons

Summary

Mr Karim Ben Cheikh draws the attention of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs to the critical situation of the freezing of procedures for issuing visas with a view to asylum for Syrian nationals, in particular those belonging to persecuted religious or ethnic minorities. The MP recalls that since 2011, France has welcomed nearly 45,000 Syrians fleeing war, persecution and general insecurity. Two big ones devices have notably enabled this reception: the resettlement programs, linked to and financed by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) of the European Union and the humanitarian corridors, resulting from a memorandum of understanding signed in March 2017 between the State and several civil society organizations. These measures have enabled hundreds of seriously threatened families, often from Christian, Alawite, Yazidi, to find refuge and protection on French soil. The MP is concerned to note that, since the announcement of the fall of the Bashar el-Assad regime on December 19, 2024, the French consular services have suspended the processing of several hundred visa applications for asylum from Syrians, mainly from countries of first asylum such as Lebanon, Jordan or Turkey, where their future remains highly uncertain. This suspension, motivated by an uncertain assessment of the new political situation in Syria, places populations already in exile in a situation of extreme distress, while persecutions of a religious, ethnic or political nature continue and intensify. The deputy recalls that the protection of persecuted minorities in the East is both a moral and legal duty, enshrined in particular in the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, ratified by France on July 28, 1951. Many organizations involved in humanitarian reception denounce the consequences of this suspension. In addition, several European chancelleries have taken similar measures, however emphasizing their temporary nature. In France, no clear communication has been made on the Government's intentions regarding the lifting or maintenance of this freeze, the consequences of which translate every day into human losses among those left without response to persecution and abuses. He would like to be informed of the Government's intentions regarding a possible imminent lifting of the freeze on procedures for issuing visas with a view to asylum for Syrian nationals, in particular for threatened religious and ethnic minorities. In In the event that this freeze is maintained, he asks it to specify what concrete modalities are envisaged in order to ensure, in compliance with international commitments, in particular those resulting from the Geneva Convention of July 28, 1951, the processing of requests for protection within a framework guaranteeing the fundamental rights of the persons concerned.

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