UNHCR publishes note on Dublin transfers to Hungary of people who have transited through Serbia

Date: 
Friday, October 4, 2013

UNHCR recommends that Dublin participating States refrain from transferring asylum seekers under the Dublin Regulation to Hungary, in cases where those asylum seekers have or may have been in Serbia prior to entering Hungary. In a note published this week, UNHCR highlights that Hungary considers Serbia to be a ‘safe third country’, and systematically returns asylum seekers who have transited through Serbia to that country without examination of their claims on the merits. The UN Refugee Agency stresses that it has documented many such removals to Serbia, and in some cases, onward removal from Serbia to other countries without any guarantee that their asylum claims will be examined in a fair and effective procedure. Furthermore, UNHCR reminds that access to the asylum procedure in Hungary also remains problematic for asylum seekers returned to Hungary under the Dublin system. Most of these asylum seekers must re-apply for asylum once they have been returned to Hungary as their files have been closed in their absence. The asylum applications of “Dublin returnees” - with the exception of those few applicants who return to Hungary before being issued a final decision on their claims, involving rejection or termination of the procedure after absconding- are considered to be subsequent applications, and applicants are required to show new elements in support of their claims that were not present at the time of the first application. A suspensive effect does not automatically apply in case of subsequent applications. Most applicants are issued an expulsion order and are detained. UNHCR warns that, consequently, asylum seekers returned to Hungary under the Dublin Regulation are in most cases not protected against expulsion to third countries, even if the merits of their asylum claims have not been examined prior to their departure from Hungary and the closure of their files in their absence.


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Keywords: 
Safe third country
Dublin Transfer
Effective access to procedures
Right to remain pending a decision (Suspensive effect)
Subsequent application
Tags: 
UNHCR
Hungary
Serbia
Spain