Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg's Minister of Immigration & Asylum;
Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has issued a statement in response to recent criticism related to the suspension of decision-making on the international protection of Afghan applicants.
According to the ministry, Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg's Minister of Immigration and Asylum, has taken note of the various criticisms formulated following the suspension of decision-making on the application for international protection of Afghan nationals at the ministerial level and the termination of the deliberation in the matter by the administrative tribunal. In the absence of a complete and reliable source of information, the ministry stated, this decision was taken while awaiting a clarification of the situation on the ground in Afghanistan, particularly in the interest of people who would have had their request refused a priori.
Minister Jean Asselborn referred to the position (in August 2021) of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a position which is also shared by other Member States, such as Germany, Belgium and France:
"In view of the instability in the country, UNHCR welcomes the suspension by some asylum countries of the decision on the international protection needs of nationals or former habitual residents of Afghanistan, until the situation is stabilising and reliable security and human rights information is available to assess the international protection needs of each applicant. UNHCR believes that it would not be appropriate to deny international protection to nationals or former habitual residents of Afghanistan on the grounds that they may flee or resettle elsewhere in the country.
For those whose claims were rejected prior to recent events, the current situation in Afghanistan may give rise to a change of circumstances which must be taken into account if a new asylum claim is made".
According to the Immigration Ministry, this position confirms the approach of the Luxembourg authorities, "in the sole interest of applicants for international protection".
