The Netherlands may not send Westernised Somali woman back

Protesting Somali asylum-seekers in the Netherlands

Radio Netherlands
Wednesday, August 01, 2012

The Dutch government must take into consideration how Westernised aslum-seekers are when evaluating their asylum requests. If asylum-seekers are unable to re-adjust to their country of origin, they must be allowed to stay in the Netherlands.

The Council of State - the Netherlands' highest legal body - issued the ruling in a case involving a Somali woman. The Dutch authorities had rejected her asylum request, which meant that she would have to return to Somalia. But the Council ruled that Somali refugees have adopted too many Western norms and values to be able to return to Somalia, where they would have to live under the strict Islamic rule of the Al Shabaab movement.

The ruling follows a judgement by the European Human Rights Court in June of last year. The Court found that Somalis who were Westernised and forced to return to their country had a greater chance of facing serious problems.

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