Georgian Ambassador to Germany Says Georgia is Ready for Safe Country Status
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, April 12
(BERLIN)--- Georgian Ambassador to Germany Elguja Khokrishvili claims that the country meets all necessary criteria to receive the safe country status from Germany, which will leave hundreds of Georgians without asylum in Germany.
“Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Germany Stefan Meier says that in May-June, Interior Minister of Germany plans to submit a plan to the Cabinet of Ministers, which envisages accelerated procedures for reviewing asylum applications. This package also includes granting the status of a safe country of origin to Georgia,” Khokrishvili said.
The German Ministry of Internal Affairs says that Georgia “fully satisfies the criteria” for a safe country status.
The Ministry reports that applications of asylum-seekers from Georgia are mostly not satisfied and the rate of recognition does not exceed one percent.
“The statistics and surveys in Georgia confirm that the situation in terms of human rights protection meets high democratic standards,” Khokrishvili said.
Adding a state to a safe country list means no one is politically prosecuted in the country.
On Monday the German Interior Minister announced plans that Georgia will be allegedly added to the safe country list.
The government of Georgia supports the decision and says that it will decrease the flow of Georgians to Germany.
Germany also intends to restrict the re-enter of the refused asylum seekers in Germany.
