Netherlands updates asylum policy for Russians
The Netherlands has extended its deportation moratorium for Russian nationals who fled military conscription for an additional six months. Those who escaped the recent partial mobilization, however, will no longer enjoy protected status and may be deported.
Decisions on asylum applications submitted by would-be conscripts have been postponed for another six months, the Netherlands Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) announced on Wednesday. The moratorium was originally introduced on June 29 due to “a lack of up-to-date, unambiguous and reliable information about the extent to which conscripts in Russia” had been involved in the conflict in Ukraine, the IND said.
Participation of conscripts in the hostilities was reported early on in the conflict; however, the issue was promptly addressed by the Russian authorities, which instructed the military to only deploy professional soldiers.
However, the moratorium no longer applies to professional servicemen who deserted during the conflict and those who fled Russia as a result of the partial mobilization, which was launched by Moscow in late September, the IND said. The decision comes due to the fact that the “Russian Defense Minister has announced that the mobilization has been completed, and instructed the military units to halt mobilization work as of October 31,” the agency said in a statement.
“The available information about their situation is sufficient for the IND to be able to decide on applications for international protection from this target group,” the authorities added.
The move has been criticized by human rights groups. The head of the Council for Refugees Netherlands, Martijn van der Linden, said it is unclear why people fleeing service in Russia for different reasons should be treated differently, especially since only a few dozen of them ended up in the country.
“We are not talking about a significant group requiring a speedy solution,” he told Dutch public broadcaster NOS.
Russia’s partial mobilization began with a presidential decree in late September, with the Defense Ministry announcing the call-up of 300,000 reservists with relevant training, previous military service, and combat experience. On October 31, President Vladimir Putin stated that the “mobilization is over.” In early December, Putin said further mobilization is off the table, with half of the troops called-up still remaining in reserve.
