Denmark to become first European nation to deport Syrian refugees

Denmark will become the first European country to tell Syrian refugees they must return to their home country, saying it is now safe for them.

After stating that Damascus and its surrounding areas are safe, the Scandinavian nation has stripped 94 Syrian refugees of their residency permits.

Syrian migrants stripped of their status will be sent to deportation camps, however, they won't be forced to leave the country.

"We have made it clear to the Syrian refugees that their residence permit is temporary. It can be withdrawn if protection is no longer needed," Denmark's immigration minister Mattias Tesfaye told The Telegraph.

Tesfaye said last month that his country has been “open and honest from the start” with Syrian refugees.

The Danish immigration minister underlined that his country would “give people protection for as long as it is needed,” however, “when conditions in the home country improve, a former refugee should return home and re-establish a life there.”

The decision came after the immigration department decided to enlarge safe areas in Syria by adding the Rif Dimashq Governorate, which includes Damascus.

Despite Germany’s decision to deport criminals back to Syria, Denmark would be the first European nation to tell ordinary Syrian refugees to return to their country.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen recently said that her country’s goal is to receive 'zero' asylum seekers under the strong anti-migration policy.

Denmark’s decision is being criticised by human rights groups.

“That the Danish government is seeking to force people back into the hands of this brutal regime is an appalling affront to refugee law and people's right to be safe from persecution,” says Steve Valdez-Symonds, Refugee and Migrant Rights Director at Amnesty International.

“This reckless violation of Denmark's duty to provide asylum also risks increasing incentives for other countries to abandon their own obligations to Syrian refugees.”

“Not only will this put the lives of even more women, men and children at risk. It will add to reasons that cause people to travel ever further afield in search of safety and security for themselves and their family,” he added.

The UN calls for immediate ceasefire in Syria

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said Monday its "overarching" recommendation is for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the country.

The commission released a report to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), focusing on people's disappearance and detentions in the 10-year conflict.

"Such a ceasefire must be genuine, and safeguards should be put into place to ensure that it is not simply used as a means to prepare for fresh offensives, but instead provides the space for Syrian-led negotiations and for the restoration of the basic human rights that have been so long denied," the commission said.

By underlining that no warring party in Syria has respected the rights of detained persons.

Assad regime forces “arbitrarily arrested, tortured and summarily executed detainees, committing both war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the report said. 

“Male and female prisoners were also raped,” it added.

The Commission of Inquiry's 30-plus page report was based on over 2,500 interviews done over 10 years, as well as investigations into more than 100 specific detention facilities.