The court forces the government to publish the Syria report, the situation remains fragile and unstable.
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the security situation in Syria as "fragile", "unstable", and "volatile" in an internal report published after a court ruling. The report was published following a lawsuit filed by a Syrian refugee who was asked to leave the country and is currently appealing the decision to reject his asylum request.
The Dutch government announced in May that it would no longer publish reports assessing the political and security situations in foreign countries, which are used to make decisions regarding asylum applications. This decision was met with sharp criticism from lawyers and human rights organizations.
The Netherlands has temporarily suspended processing asylum applications from Syrians since last December for a period of six months, due to uncertainty about the implications of the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime and the possibility of refugees returning safely. According to the Volkskrant newspaper, the latest report released in May describes the situation in Syria as highly unstable following the collapse of Assad's regime, noting the rise of sectarian tensions, the return of ISIS attacks, and clashes between Turkey-backed groups and Kurdish forces, in addition to Israeli airstrikes in various areas.
The report stated: "The country is still filled with weapons and armed factions, and sectarian tensions often escalate into widespread violence." Inside the Dutch parliament, right-wing parties are demanding the immediate deportation of Syrian refugees, and PVV leader Geert Wilders said that Syrians with temporary residency should be returned to their country.
Although the report does not determine whether Syria or parts of it are safe, it confirms that the situation as of April this year remains fragile and unstable. Despite these circumstances, more than half a million Syrians have returned to their country since the fall of Assad, most of them from Lebanon and Turkey, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. About 250 Syrians returned from the Netherlands with government support, but the number of those who returned independently is unknown. The Netherlands currently hosts about 165,000 Syrian refugees.
The report warns that returnees face widespread destruction, adding: "One of the major obstacles to the return of Syrians from abroad is the extensive damage to infrastructure and homes," as many find their former homes destroyed, uninhabitable, or occupied.