Dutch courts refuse to return asylum seekers to Belgium over reception concerns
Since February, Dutch courts have repeatedly refused to send asylum seekers back to Belgium under the European Dublin Regulation, which normally requires asylum claims to be processed in the first EU country where an application is submitted. At least four such rulings have been made, according to Belgian magazine Knack.
The cases concern individuals who first applied for asylum in Belgium before continuing to the Netherlands. However, Dutch courts have begun to challenge the standard procedure.
In a recent ruling involving a Georgian man, the court cited "indications of serious fear that the reception facilities in Belgium contain system errors". The ruling pointed out that Belgium’s reception network, managed by Fedasil, is operating at full capacity of around 36,000 places, putting the man at risk of ending up on the street.
ECHR violation
Such a scenario could potentially violate Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which states that "no one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".
According to Knack, these rulings particularly affect single men. Under the previous state secretary for Asylum and Migration, Nicole de Moor of CD&V, families were given priority access to Belgium's overcrowded reception centres, leaving single adult men on waiting lists. That list still includes around 3,000 people.
"The waiting lists for regular reception in Belgium are only increasing"
The Dutch courts see no sign of improvement under the current minister, Anneleen Van Bossuyt of N-VA. In an 11 April ruling, the court in Groningen concluded that “the waiting lists for regular reception in Belgium are only increasing”, citing both international reports and monitoring data from NGOs such as Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen and Doctors Without Borders.
© PHOTO GUILLERMO ARIAS / AFP
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