PM:05:20:14/03/2023
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SULAIMANI — The number of Arab asylum applicants in the
European Union has surged last year amid economic and political crises in a
number of Arab countries.
Data of the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) show
that Syria, Iraq and Morocco came at the top of 10 Arab states whose citizens
applied for asylum in EU countries in 2022.
1– Syria
Around 131,700 Syrians applied for asylum in Europe in 2022.
The high number of Syrian asylum applicants was attributed to the deteriorating
political and security conditions in Syria since 2011.
These requests were double the number registered in 2020,
where only 64,540 asylum applications were registered, the lowest since 2014.
In 2015, more than 371,000 asylum applications were made by
Syrian nationals, the highest number of requests ever recorded.
Interestingly, 94% of Syrian asylum seekers had their
requests accepted, registering the highest rate for accepted applications at
the Arab and international levels.
However, more than 88,000 Syrian asylum applications
remained pending.
2– Iraq
Despite improving political and security conditions, Iraq
ranked second on the list of countries whose citizens applied for asylum in EU
countries in 2022.
Data showed that over 26,900 Iraqis made asylum requests in
Europe in 2022. Only 30 percent of these applications, however, were accepted.
More than 17,000 asylum applications remained pending.
The highest number of Iraqi asylum applications was recorded
in 2015, with 126,000 requests. At that time, the northern and western parts of
the country were seized by the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group.
The number of asylum applications drastically dropped in
2020, registering less than 18,200 requests amid the outbreak of the COVID-19
pandemic.
3– Morocco
Iraq was followed by Morocco with 21,895 asylum requests in
2022, the highest since 2014, which registered 4,904 applications.
In 2020, only 7,662 asylum requests were made.
However, only 5 percent of these applications were accepted,
while more than 17,000 requests remained pending.
4– Tunisia
Tunisia, a nation of 12.5 million, registered 21,447 asylum
applications in the EU in 2022.
The number of asylum requests increased nine-fold between
2017 and 2022, reflecting a state of concern about the political and economic
situation in the North African country.
Tunisia, like Morocco, recorded in 2022 the highest number
of asylum requests since 2014.
However, only 2 percent of these requests were accepted,
while 6,247 applications remained pending. This was linked to the EU
classification of Tunisia as a safe country, while priority is given to
countries experiencing security unrest, such as Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Libya.
5– Somalia
Somalis lodged 17,590 asylum requests with the EU countries
in 2022, up from 11,180 applications in 2020.
Around 59 percent of these applications were accepted, a
rate that was higher than many Arab nationalities.
However, more than 14,000 asylum applications remained
pending with immigration services in EU countries.
6– Egypt
Egypt, a country of 107 million people, registered 15,429
asylum requests in 2022, the highest since 2014.
This number nearly tripled in two years. The lowest number
of requests was recorded in 2020 with around 3,220 applications.
Around 7 percent of these requests were accepted as Egypt,
like Tunisia and Morocco, is classified as a safe country.
7– Algeria
The number of Algerian asylum applications in the EU
recorded 9,765 in 2022.
The highest number of Algerian asylum requests was
registered in 2016 with 12,371 applications when the North African country
faced an economic crisis amid falling oil prices.
Around 8 percent of these requests, however, were accepted
as Algeria is classified as a safe country.
8– Palestine
There were 6,750 Palestinian asylum requests in the EU in
2022. These applications were double the number of requests registered in 2020,
which saw 3,313 asylum applications.
The highest number of asylum requests was recorded in 2018
with 7,363 applications.
Around 5,486 asylum requests remained pending.
Palestine is classified as an unsafe country, with the
percentage of acceptance of Palestinian asylum applications reaching 65%, the
highest percentage in the Arab world after Syria and Yemen.
9– Sudan
Sudanese made more than 5,660 asylum requests in 2022, up
from 3,152 requests in 2020.
The highest number of Sudanese asylum applications was
recorded in 2015 and 2016, with 11,350 requests in each.
Around 48 percent of Sudanese asylum requests were accepted,
eight points above the European average.
10– Yemen
Yemenis made 5,340 asylum requests in 2022, the highest
number of applications made in the past nine years.
The lowest number of Yemeni asylum applications was recorded
in 2017 with 2,332 requests.
Yemenis, after Syrians, receive priority in the Arab world
in terms of accepting asylum applications in Europe, with the acceptance rate
reaching 84 percent. Around 3,906 asylum applications remained pending.
(NRT Digital Media/AA)