The Diplomat
The majority of asylum requests made in Spain by Venezuelans, Colombians and Nicaraguans who leave their countries are rejected by the Spanish government, according to the latest report by the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid (CEAR).
The report, which gives an account of the origin of asylum seekers in our country in 2022, indicates that most of the petitioners are from Venezuela (45,748) and Colombia (36,012). They are followed, at a considerable distance, by those from Peru (8,937), Morocco (3,905) and Honduras (3,017).
CEAR is concerned about the “considerable increase” in pending applications, 122,035, 17% more than the previous year, most of them from Venezuela and Colombia.
The avalanche of Venezuelans who have left their country due to the deteriorating situation after years of Bolivarian governments has led to a considerable increase in asylum requests in Spain. However, the response of the Spanish authorities has not been what asylum seekers had hoped for.
According to CEAR, most Venezuelans do not obtain international protection, although they do receive temporary permits for humanitarian reasons (20,580 people in 2022).
The commission also denounces a “majority rejection” of applications from Colombians and Nicaraguans, “despite the threats and violations of rights” that occur in both countries.
And it cites the testimony of José Miguel, a Colombian human rights defender and refugee in Spain, who recalls his asylum process as a “real odyssey”: he had to wait almost two years to be recognised as a refugee after an appeal lodged by CEAR.
According to the organisation, the Spanish authorities grant international protection to 99.2 % of applicants from countries in conflict such as Burkina Faso, while 98 % of Venezuelans are granted protection on humanitarian grounds.
Last year, a total of 118,842 asylum requests were registered in Spain, 82% more than the previous year, following the end of border restrictions due to the pandemic, and a record number in our country.
However, according to CEAR, only 16.5 % of these applications were approved, which makes Spain the third country in the European Union that recognised the least asylum in 2022, despite being the third with the most applications.
However, the organisation welcomes the fact that the number of accepted applications has increased by 10 % compared to the previous year.
In total, Spain resolved 86,997 applications favourably, also a record number, with Malians (4,883), Afghans (1,535), Ukrainians (1,337) and Colombians (658) standing out.
CEAR also denounces the shortage of appointments to access the asylum procedure, which means that migrants have to wait “in an irregular situation between six and eight months on average to present their application” and are forced to “resort to the informal market to access this right, in violation of the European Procedures Directive”.
Most of the asylum seekers arrived in Spain by air and CEAR draws attention to the 2,900 people who died at sea trying to reach European shores, at least 1,170 of them heading for Spain.
