Single men applying for asylum in Belgium will for the time being no longer be given a reception place. Belgian secretary of state for asylum and migration Nicole de Moor (Flemish Christian democrat/CD&V) has confirmed media reports. Ms De Moor wants the focus to be on families with children and wants to avoid those children having to sleep on the streets this winter. "I don't want to be running behind the situation," she says.
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Belgium modifies asylum policy: “No reception places for single men now”
Colin Clapson
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Fedasil - the agency that manages asylum reception places in Belgium - has been instructed to stop giving single men access to asylum reception.
Every asylum seeker is normally entitled to shelter and food while his or her asylum procedure is ongoing, but having enough reception places has long been a problem in Belgium. Families and children are increasingly applying for asylum in the country.
"I don't want to be running after the facts. That is why I am already taking the decision now to reserve all available places for families with children. I absolutely want to avoid children ending up on the streets," Ms De Moor stresses.
The junior minister also notes that the high number of asylum seekers in recent years is weighing heavily on the reception network. "We continue to open new centres, but in the past year everyone has seen how difficult it is to create reception facilities."
"Earlier measures are having an effect"
The measures taken in the past year have ensured that no explosion of asylum applications occurred in Belgium says Ms De Moor. Still, more needs to be done to ease the pressure. That is why the secretary of state is working on a migration pact that will allow European asylum and migration policy to be better organised.
The pact should provide a fast border procedure at external EU borders and ensure a fairer distribution of asylum seekers in Europe. "Our country has been doing more than its share for a long time. This is really not going to continue. This year there are 19,000 registered asylum seekers in Belgium compared to 1,500 in Portugal, a country with a similar population."
Human Rights League responds: 'Single men are also vulnerable'
According to figures from the Federal Migration Centre Myria the Belgian state has been condemned over 7,000 times for failing to provide asylum reception here. This resulted in numerous penalty payments, but Ms De Moor refuses to pay them.
For Kati Verstrepen, the president of the Human Rights League, De Moor is confirming the existence of a situation that has existed in practice for a long time. That doesn't make it any less serious, though. "This is absolutely not in line with international or Belgian law. Reception should be provided to everyone," she says.
Moreover, according to Ms Verstrepen, it is not true that single men are less vulnerable and it is not acceptable that an entire group is simply excluded. "Single men can also be victims of violence and abuse. If reception availability fails in exceptional cases, a case-by-case assessment must be made of who is most vulnerable."
The measure also proves that the migration deals the European Union made with Tunisia and earlier with Turkey are not working, Verstrepen claims. The Human Rights League advocates expanding legal migration channels such as labour migration so that fewer migrants are forced to apply for asylum.