In January have, in our country, 2.765 people asylum requested. This is evident from new figures from the office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless persons. That is the highest number since three years. 426 Palestinians asked for a request for international protection. Minister Maggie De Block (Open Vld) announced a new ontradingscampagne, but her predecessor, Theo Francken (N-VA) is critical.
After the low numbers in november and december there was an increase to expect. In december asked only 1.253 people applied for asylum, the lowest number in quite a long time. The figures are now rising again sharply, to reach the highest number since January of 2016, the end of the asielcrisis of 2015. In addition to Palestinians asked in January, mainly Afghans and Syrians applied for asylum. Iraq, Guinea, Turkey, Somalia, Iran, Burundi, and Eritrea complete the top 10.
Read also Asylum applications decline again in last two months 2018, annual or higher
According to minister of Asylum and Migration, Maggie De Block (Open Vld), the figures again at the level of October 2018. “The increase, which under my predecessor had started, is so by. According to The Block there are several explanations for the increase. “There is the backlog, caused by the illegal quotas of december ( the quota of 60 asylum seekers per day, by the Council of State suspended , red), in december, there was a delayed inflow because the asielloket with the holidays was closed, and there is the increased influx of Palestinians.”
“New ontradingscampagne”
The Block announces specific for the Palestinians new measures. “In January, a first specific ontradingscampagne conducted on Facebook. The ads were directed at the Palestinians in the Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The results of the campaign were good. The ad was more than 195.000 times viewed by the target audience. New ontradingscampagnes for this specific target group are soon to be launched.”
In december it was already decided to be stricter in judging the applications for asylum of the Palestinians, and The Block also wants to investigate whether already granted vluchtelingenstatussen again withdrawn. “I also have a action plan ready to cope with the increased influx quickly to address. That plan is currently being discussed in the government.”