Practice concerning applicants for international protection from Eritrea (2014)
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Summary
The majority of MS who responded to the AHQ clearly state that the majority of cases where (i) Eritrean citizenship and (i) travel routes can be established some kind of protection is usually granted, though asylum is not necessarily granted. Some MS have identified false claims of Eritrean citizenship amongst their applicants. See individual answers for details. A number of applicants disappear during the processing of their application, a factor that negatively affects the rates of granting protection. Most of the MS do not have vast numbers of applicants from Eritrea; Norway is a case in point.
Some estimates include preliminary processing procedures, others do not. However, most MS give an estimate of about 6 months processing time (182 days) Norway’s processing time in 2014 was about 101 days. The Netherlands has a rushed preliminary process which takes 8 days where 80% of the decisions are made…the remaining 20% can take 6 months. See The Netherland's answer for details. Most MS adamantly explain that they do not carry out forced returns and why. However, Norway, Germany, France, The Slovac Republic and the United Kingdom have programs for assisted return and forced returns. There is clearly a correlation between large numbers of applicants from Eritrea and acceptance for some forced returns, though Norway is an exception to this pattern. There is a stipulation that such returns are carefully weighed against the potential dangers involved. The UK explains that some returns of “Eritrean” applicants are actually not returns to Eritrea since the applicants made false claims about citizenship. See the UK's detailed response.