Immigration : Benin on the red list

Three African countries including Benin have been removed from the list of so-called immigration countries “sure” of the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons.

The French Council of State withdrew on Friday 2 July 2021, the Republics of Benin, Senegal and Ghana from the French list of so-called ”sure”. A decision whose primary motivation would be the protection of LGBT people and the desire to offer their nationals the hope of a more lenient asylum procedure in France. Benin was already in a delicate position. In September 2020, OFPRA suspended Benin from its capacity as “safe countries of origin” for twelve months. This time it has just been definitively moved to the list of unsafe countries.

Several associations have also contributed to this OFPRA decision. They turned to the highest administrative jurisdiction to put a tipex on the name of certain countries that were classified as safe countries of origin. After the institution’s decision, associations rejoice but are not satisfied for all that. Refugee Forum-Cosi for example, other association party to the case, "Also welcomes" a decision "which improves procedural guarantees and reception conditions for nationals of these countries", including nearly 2 000 are asylum seekers in France in 2020.

It should be noted that the withdrawal of Benin and other countries is retroactive. "This means that asylum seekers from these countries must have their application reclassified under the normal procedure" and no longer accelerated, estimates Refugee Forum-Cosi. : "The removal decisions taken against them while they are still in the appeal phase before the CNDA (National Court of Asylum) are also no longer founded, just like the withdrawal of material reception conditions, particularly financial, which must therefore be restored ”, rejoices the association.

A decision which "has no bearing on the requirement for an individual examination (…) asylum applications from nationals of these countries and the possibility for these nationals to benefit from refugee status (…) when this examination reveals a need for protection "insisted the OFPRA.

Leonard SONEHEKPON