Dignified return

Quality return counselling

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has provided counselling to rejected asylum seekers for many years. The independent and impartial counselling only has a humanitarian aim to support and contribute to clarification for rejected asylum seekers in Denmark. Based on our experience with counselling for rejected asylum seekers, DRC has made recommendations for quality return counselling.

DRC's recommendations for quality return counselling

DIALOGUE

Return counselling should provide a safe and confidential space for dialogue. Counselling should go beyond just information-giving and instead facilitate meaningful dialogue that allows the individual to reflect on their situation and explore their options. It should create an environment where individuals can openly discuss concerns, fears, and their different strategies and questions related to their situation and possible future without fear of sanctions.

IMPARTIALITY

Return counselling should be impartial and centred on the individual’s situation. Counselling should avoid pressuring individuals towards specific choices and instead support them in exploring their thoughts and options in a neutral manner. The aim is not to direct a person towards a particular decision, but to provide non-directive counselling that respects the person’s autonomy and supports informed decision-making, recognising the individual as the expert in their own life.

TRUST

Return counselling should create conditions for trust to develop. To move away from a state of indecision or uncertainty towards motivation and an informed decision is often a complex process. Many may not be ready to decide about their future when they are given a return decision, and the process may require time and gradual development of trust in the counselling process. Recognizing the complexity and the many “winding roads” towards clarification is therefore essential. Counselling should be flexible, allowing for both single sessions and repeated sessions over time when needed. Counsellors should also have strong knowledge of relevant procedures and options and provide accurate information in a neutral and person-centred manner.

AGENCY

Return counselling should support clarification and agency. Individuals in a return procedure are in a vulnerable situation and may experience feelings of lost hope, frustration, and at times apathy, alongside a sense of detachment from the legal process they have gone through. These experiences can make it challenging for them to consider their options and take informed action. Return counselling should provide space for them to reflect on their strengths and capacities and support their sense of agency. By supporting reflection and providing accurate information where relevant, as well as offering possible referral to impartial legal counselling, return counselling should enable individuals to make their own informed decisions and act on them.

DRC’s recommendations to ensure safe and dignified return procedures

1. FAIR AND EFFICIENT ASYLUM PROCEDURE

Access to a fair and efficient asylum procedure is a precondition for safe and dignified return.

Applications for asylum must be processed in accordance with international refugee law and/or equivalent national legislation through transparent, effective, and fair procedures with safeguards and appeal options that protect the individual from arbitrary treatment and refoulement.

2. ACCEPTED RETURN

Forced return undermines human dignity and should be avoided.

Prevalence should be given to voluntary or rather accepted return. Efforts should focus on creating the widest possible opportunities for accepted or voluntary return, where rejected asylum seekers are given the time and conditions necessary to meaningfully prepare, build trust, and influence their return process.

Many may have held onto to the hope of building a new life for a long time, making it a complex process to adjust and make informed decisions about their future. Threats of forced return and sanctions rarely provide clarity or lead to sustainable solutions. Instead, it often makes it harder to prepare meaningfully for the future. A dignified return process is more likely to improve the chances for sustainable reintegration.

3. IMPARTIAL COUNSELLING

Rejected asylum seekers should have access to independent and impartial, high-quality counselling on both the legal matters of their case and return.

If rejected asylum seekers wish to explore pathways for legal stay, they should have access to independent legal counselling. Similarly, access to return counselling should be ensured. Return counselling is not just information-giving and guidance about the actual return procedure; it should create a confidential space for rejected asylum seekers where worries, questions, and strategies can be shared and discussed freely.

It is best done in a safe atmosphere by non-governmental counsellors with excellent, empathetic communication skills. The goal of return counselling should be to enhance empowerment and support individuals in making their own informed decision about their future.

4. DIGNIFIED STANDARDS OF LIVING

The use of sanctions and detention to “motivate” return must be avoided, as it undermines human dignity and is ineffective as a motivational tool.

Instead, rejected asylum seekers should be offered dignified and adequate living conditions to safeguard their mental and physical health. Additionally, they should receive adequate support to enhance empowerment and maintain their skills and sense of agency.

5. MEANINGFUL REINTEGRATION SUPPORT

Access to meaningful and sufficient support to ensure sustainable reintegration should be a part of the return process.

As a reintegration process begins prior to departure, it is important to have access to pre-departure counselling, receive guidance on reintegration activities, and have opportunities for skill development. Sustainable reintegration involves more than economic self-sufficiency; it is shaped by the returnees' experiences throughout the entire migration cycle and influenced by both individual, social, and contextual factors. Support should thus be holistic, tailored to individual needs, and addressing economic, social, and psychosocial elements.

Extract of DRC’s Global Policy on Return

DRC engages in return processes both in Denmark and globally. The following eight positions outline the overall framework for DRC’s engagement in return processes globally – applicable in all return situations including asylum seekers, refugees and IDPs:

#1: All forcibly displaced persons have a right to be protected against refoulement, to receive protection and assistance in accordance with international human rights law4 and should not be forced or pressured through i.e. untenable conditions in the host country to return to the area of origin under unsafe circumstances and conditions non-conducive for reintegration.

#2: DRC respects the right of States to return individuals without legal residence provided the decision to deny asylum or to withdraw refugee status has been made with due regard to national and international human rights standards. However, DRC finds that refugees should not be subject to constant or regular reviews of their refugee status. The right to family unity should be respected and minors should never be returned in contravention of the best interest of the child, and the possibility to grant a humanitarian residence permit or similar to vulnerable groups for health-related or other humanitarian reasons should be promoted.

#3: Inclusion and dignity of all concerned individuals must be upheld in the return process. Every return process must be carried out in a humane and dignified manner, where people concerned are given a chance to prepare and influence the return process.

#4: The right to return “all the way home” must be guaranteed. The return of all concerned individuals must be based on their right to return “all the way home” if they so wish. If the returnee wishes to be housed and reintegrated in other areas of the country of origin, this must be respected and supported on equal terms as the right to return home.

#5: Forced return, even if legally sanctioned, should be avoided as it often comes with measures that undermine human dignity, incl. detention and the use of force.

#6: Return must not be viewed as the mere physical movement of people back to their area of origin but should always be accompanied by post-return monitoring and meaningful reintegration support.

#7: Refugees and IDPs must be supported in building capacities and develop skills while in exile to enable dignified life and improve the chances for sustainable return.

#8: Return should not be seen or promoted in isolation. In a protracted crisis, all three durable solutions should be pursued simultaneously and a host-government’s potential preference for return should never dilute DRC’s programming and advocacy to promote local solutions and resettlement.