Some students and researchers are already here, but a few months ago a group of 46 Palestinians struggled to cross the border into Jordan. The documents they needed to travel here for study or research were waiting for them at the Dutch embassy in Amman.
Their host universities argued that the government should provide consular assistance to these people. Wageningen supported three of these Palestinians in a lawsuit against the state. They lost that court case and filed an appeal.
But since appeals can take a long time, the plaintiffs couldn’t afford to wait for the verdict to be overturned. They therefore applied to the court for an ‘interim injunction’ – a provisional ruling – on their request for assistance.
Outcome
Now the court has ruled that the minister does have an obligation to provide such assistance, as this would require little effort. The people concerned do not need to be picked up – the government just has to make an effort through diplomacy to allow them to cross the border into Jordan.
In other words, the ruling is about balancing different interests. The potential consequences for the Palestinians are significant, given that the appeal proceedings may take too long to produce a meaningful outcome. Meanwhile, the effort required from the government is fairly insignificant.
An earlier preliminary injunction hearing in March also resulted in a favourable decision for two Palestinian students who planned to enrol at Wageningen University to pursue master’s degrees.
Asylum?
Governing coalition partner VVD was displeased by that verdict, fearing that the students will seek asylum here. In response to written questions, the Ministry of Education noted that applying for asylum is a right, meaning this option would indeed be available to them once they arrive.
In his response to the VVD, foreign minister Tom Berendsen noted that he disagrees with “both the form and substance” of the interim injunction. This position will be clarified during the appeal. “Nevertheless, the rulings in the relevant cases will of course be heeded.”