Hundreds of Syrians took to the streets of The Hague at the weekend to protest against the Dutch government’s plan to declare parts of the country safe to return to.

The coalition parties want to identify so-called “safe” regions before the end of the year so that it can begin returning asylum seekers as part of a wider programme to reduce the number of refugees in the country.

Syrians make up by far the largest share of asylum seekers coming to the Netherlands, accounting for around 43% of the total so far this year, as a result of the decade-long civil war that has cost an estimated 600,000 lives.

Demonstrators who gathered in The Hague said no part of Syria could be considered safe while President Bashar al-Assad and his government were in power.

“The threat for Syrian people is the regime, not just the active war,” Mahmoud Al Naser told NOS. “If I go back to Syria I’ll be thrown in prison or killed.”

Another protestor, Hassan Alsalka, told NRC: “Assad is a criminal. His regime wants to kill my father and has already killed my uncle. They were at a demonstration and the regime had a photo of them.

“My uncle was arrested while walking down the street and has never been seen since.”

The United Nations’ independent advisory committee on Syria warned at the weekend that the country was “sliding deeper into lawlessness” and urged the Dutch government not to send refugees back there.

Embassy closed

“Our position is clear,” said a spokesman quoted in AD.nl. “Syria is not a safe country to return refugees to. There is no case whatsoever for doing so at present. That applies to the whole country.”

The Netherlands closed its embassy in Damascus in 2018 because of security concerns and to express its disgust at the regime’s mistreatment of its citizens. The foreign affairs ministry currently advises against all travel to Syria, warning that “current developments in the region make the situation unpredictable”.

Under the deal agreed by the coalition parties last week, the Dutch government would abolish permanent residency status for new refugees and require temporary permits to be reassessed every three years.

Prime minister Dick Schoof said last week when presenting the plans that the cabinet had asked civil servants to advise them which areas of Syria could be considered safe, but stressed that the decision would not be politically influenced.

“Our policy regarding Syria will be tightened considerably,” he said. “That means that people from safe areas will no longer be eligible for asylum and where possible will return there.”

But he added: “Let’s be clear that if the official advice doesn’t justify declaring an area safe, we will not declare it safe on political grounds.”