The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Thursday that Belgium had subjected four applicants for international protection to degrading treatment.
Belgium's inability or lack of political willingness to provide shelter for asylum seekers in Belgium, due to an ongoing reception space crisis, forced refugees to live on the streets for several months. This was despite court rulings requiring the country to provide them with accommodation.
The applicants, from Angola, Guinea, China and Cameroon, applied for international protection after arriving in Belgium in 2022.
They claim to have lived and slept on the streets of Brussels in extremely precarious conditions, despite final orders from the Brussels Labour Court instructing the Belgian State to provide them with accommodation and material assistance in accordance with its legal obligations.
According to the Court, the Belgian authorities "must be held responsible for the conditions in which the applicants found themselves for months, including during the winter, living on the streets, without resources, without access to sanitation, having no means of meeting their basic needs and in constant fear for their safety".
Whilst stating that it was "aware of the difficult situation facing the Belgian State", the Court also considers that the time taken by the Belgian authorities to implement the court decisions cannot be regarded as reasonable.
Furthermore, these court decisions have not been fully enforced, insofar as the daily penalty payments imposed on Belgium have still not been paid to date.
The judges unanimously concluded that there had been a violation, in particular, of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits degrading treatment; as well as a violation of Article 6, which guarantees the right to a fair trial.
The Court ruled that Belgium must pay sums ranging from €5,070 to €12,350 to the applicants.
The Minister for Asylum and Migration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA), emphasised in a statement that these events date back to 2022, "during the previous parliamentary term, in which we were not part of the majority".
Asylum seekers in tents in front of the Petit Château being asked by the police to leave. Credit: Belga/ Laurie Dieffembacq
Her party, the N-VA, was in opposition at the time. "In the meantime, essential reforms have been implemented, ensuring a sufficient number of reception places for those entitled to them," Van Bossuyt emphasised.
However, the Constitutional Court and the Council of State recently called the minister to order after she decided to stop granting assistance to people receiving protection in another EU country.
This decision "immediately exposes those concerned to the risk of finding themselves in a situation of complete destitution and having to sleep on the streets", the Council of State argued.
Nearly 500 Fedasil staff published an open letter last week, in which they distanced themselves from the minister’s "daily violations of the rule of law and human dignity, both towards asylum seekers and the staff of the agency" responsible for receiving applicants for international protection.
