Deportation: German cabinet agree to label North African states safe

Deportation: German cabinet agree to label North African states safe
Deportation
Berlin, July 18, 2018 (dpa/NAN) The German cabinet on Wednesday agreed to label three North African countries and Georgia as “safe countries of origin” to speed up the asylum process and facilitate the return of rejected asylum seekers there.
The cabinet agreed a draft law listing Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and the former Soviet republic of Georgia as safe.
The draft must now be voted on by the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag.
The opposition Greens and the far-left Die Linke have already rejected the plan, saying the countries are not safe for certain groups.
A previous attempt to list only the three North African countries failed in the upper chamber of the German parliament in the last legislative period.
Reports in the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland group of publications said that the new draft law will include a provision to allow those who have started a job, professional training or an apprenticeship to remain in Germany.
Opposition politicians have criticised the move.
Robert Habeck, Leader of the Greens, said that the three North African countries, part of the Maghreb region, were not safe for many people.
“It is still the case that journalists, minorities and homosexuals are not safe from persecution and arrest in the Maghreb states.
“There are reports of torture and unfair court proceedings. Therefore I cannot see how these states are safe,” Habeck told RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland.
He said that the designation of countries as “safe countries of origin” does not solve any problems the move is aimed at.
“If it’s about sending people from the Maghreb back more quickly, you need to have a functioning repatriation agreement.
“If it’s about dealing with crime in Germany, then you need a well-equipped police force,” Habeck said. (NAN)
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