Israel moves to slow asylum applications:
Georgia added to list of safe countries of origin
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Israel has added Georgia to its list of safe countries of origin.
This move will have implications for individuals from Georgia seeking asylum or refugee status in Israel.
The addition of Georgia to the Israeli list of safe countries of origin is also an acknowledgement of Georgia’s provision of fair defence and rights to all citizens, regardless of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political belief.
Georgian Deputy Parliament Speaker Tamar Chugoshvili went to Twitter to welcome the news.
Good news - @TheStateofIsrael has included Georgia in the list of safe countries. According to #Israel no one in #Georgia is under threat!
— Tamar Chugoshvili (@ChugoshviliMP) February 28, 2017
Applications of asylum seekers from Georgia wishing to immigrate to Israel will now be reviewed differently. Claims will now be dismissed unless there are extreme, extenuating circumstances.
Moreover, applications for asylum will be reviewed within a one-month period; during this period, those seeking refugee status will not be allowed to work in Israel.
Israel is the fifth country to place Georgia on a list of safe countries of origin. The other four are Belgium, France, Bulgaria and Austria.
More than 3,050 Georgian citizens requested asylum in Israel in 2016. In comparison, only 5 Georgian citizens requested asylum in Israel.
Israeli media reported in 2016 that many Georgians name ‘political repression’ in their home country as the reason for their request to be granted asylum.
In response to an influx of applications in the same year, the Israeli Interior Ministry announced that it was considering the implementation of a mechanism which would allow for the summary rejection of applications from Georgia and Ukraine in order to "free resources for considering more serious cases”.
Belgium has reviewed its asylum system and for the first time awarded Georgia the status of ‘Safe Country of Origin’, meaning Georgia is now regarded as a safe country and it meets top international standards of law and judicial requirements.
Georgia has been ranked the third safest country in the world. Numbeo.com, the world’s largest database of user contributed data, surveyed 118 countries, and ranked South Korea, Singapore and Georgia as the top three safest nations.
Georgia has been named alongside Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan as one of the safest countries to live in by international lifestyle website lifestyle9.com.
A recreational square will soon open in central Tbilisi in honour of four Georgian men who died while helping others during the Holocaust and are known as the "Georgian Schindlers”.
Georgia and Israel have agreed the two states will cooperate to reach a deal on labour migration. The decision was announced after a delegation from Israel held bilateral consultations in Tbilisi today.
The number of Georgian nationals seeking political asylum in Israel has been significantly decreased in the course of the last month, Georgia’s Consul to Israel Aleksandre Jishkariani told local media.
Israeli Immigration and Border Protection Service with Georgia’s embassy to Israel offer Georgian illegal migrants in Israel in return back to Georgia " worthily and voluntarily.”
Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili is visiting Israel today and tomorrow.The business trip will be launched by a meeting between Kvirikashvili and Prime Minister of the State of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, after the two officials will make joint statements before the media.
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu believes Georgia and Israel, "two brotherly nations”, have a great future despite the fact they are small nations.