 As many as 4,500 of those consisted of unaccompanied minors.Thousands had their claims for asylum rejected and were thus ineligible for residence permits, but had been permitted to delay their departure due to the lack of safety in their home country.In 1999, State Secretary for Justice Job Cohen pushed to have the delay of departure scheme ended; though in his judgment the situation in Angola as a whole was still not safe, Luanda was stable enough to enable Angolans to return.