The humanitarian situation for asylum seekers in Belgium is worsening, according to a report published Thursday by seven humanitarian organisations, including Doctors of the World, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and Caritas International.
The crisis has deepened, with 62% of accommodation requests by single men at Samusocial being refused in the second half of 2025 due to a lack of available spaces. For families, the refusal rate is even higher at 75%.
Meanwhile, the number of reception places in the Fedasil network continues to decline, even though there were still at least 2,000 individuals in need of shelter by the end of the year.
Access to healthcare services has also deteriorated, driven by reduced funding. Several low-threshold reception centres have had to scale back operations, causing increased pressure on already limited medical facilities.
At the Humanitarian Hub, medical consultations were cut by half starting in November 2025, leading to a significant increase in the number of cases where care was denied.
The organisations behind the report assert that the fundamental rights of asylum seekers—including access to shelter, food, medical and psychological care, and legal assistance—are not being upheld. They emphasised that these responsibilities lie with the government and Fedasil, not with NGOs.
They propose solutions such as implementing a redistribution plan to manage the intake of asylum seekers and alleviate the crisis.
"While waiting lists persist, while people are left sleeping in the streets, and while the government refuses to enforce court rulings or adopt urgent structural measures, Belgium is deliberately violating the right to reception," the organisations warned.
The report, spearheaded by Doctors of the World, MSF, CIRÉ, Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen, BelRefugees, Caritas International, and the Humanitarian Hub, highlights the consequences of a law passed last August that ended reception services for people already granted refugee status or protection in another EU Member State.
Amnesty International also raised concerns on Tuesday in its annual report on human rights globally. The NGO criticised the shortage of reception facilities for asylum seekers and expressed worry about threats to the rule of law in Belgium.
