Samenvatting

In this article, the authors discuss in general terms the relevance of Article 1F Refugee Convention in relation to the recent increased asylum influx and the ‘Arab Spring’. More specifically, they answer the question to what extent it can be expected that the application of Article 1F is an appropriate means for identifying potential IS sympathizers and thus possibly for removing the threat of future terrorist attacks. With regard to countries like Syria it is more likely that relatively low-level persons who have been employed as a soldier or officer in a repressive state apparatus are excluded on the basis of Article 1F, than IS sympathizers with future terrorist plans. When the situation in Syria does not improve, it is likely that those 1F-excluded individuals will end up in a limbo situation for a prolonged period of time. This not only has significant negative consequences for the individuals involved, but also means that every 1F-exclusion today creates a political problem for the future.