The rights of hundreds of thousands of people in Belgium are under serious threat by the Federal Government's recent unemployment, pensions and labour market reforms, according to a report by the Federal Institute for Human Rights (FIRM).
In 2025 and 2026, FIRM issued repeated warnings about the risk that the 'Arizona' Government's socio-economic reforms would violate the human rights of hundreds of thousands of people.
In particular, they highlighted the time limit on unemployment benefits, the return to work of people with long-term illnesses and pension reform, as the Federal Government policies putting social rights at risk.
"Decent working conditions, a decent pension, access to healthcare, housing… Social rights are also human rights," said Martien Schotsmans, director of the FIRM. "The current reforms affect hundreds of thousands of people. Measures that entail a deterioration of their rights must not simply be implemented."
In its annual report, the institute stressed that the right to work, social security, health, housing, and a healthy living environment are social rights and are not optional: they are guaranteed by Article 23 of the Constitution and Belgium’s international commitments.
They are also closely linked to other rights: without a decent income or good working conditions, it becomes difficult in practice to exercise, for example, the right to family life or to health.
Rushed reforms
Therefore, FIRM stressed that its annual report serves as a reminder that the Federal Government may not lower the level of protection afforded to social rights without sufficient justification.
This, they underlined, is guaranteed by the standstill principle: any restriction of social rights must serve a legitimate aim, and the consequences for those affected must not be disproportionate.
According to the National Employment Service, around 194,000 people will lose their unemployment benefits in 2026. About a quarter of those (55,247 people) already lost their benefits between January and March.
The number of people on long-term sick leave in Belgium reached a record high in May: 576,643 people, according to the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (RIZIV).
An impact assessment to examine the effect of multiple measures on a single individual is necessary to determine whether socio-economic reforms respect human rights, the report stressed.
"An unemployed person may be affected simultaneously by the time limit on benefits, the increase in tax on those benefits and the freeze on their indexation," the report said. Together, these three measures can have far greater consequences than each one individually, particularly for those in the most vulnerable situations.
Prime Minister Bart De Wever pictured during a plenary session of the Chamber at the Federal Parliament in Brussels, Thursday 16 April 2026. Credit: Belga/Emile Windal
However, FIRM notes that these reforms have been adopted without a thorough impact assessment having been carried out.
Additionally, the institute stated that it also regrets that the urgent procedure was repeatedly invoked in the Federal Parliament. Reforms that affect the human rights of hundreds of thousands of people require time, they emphasised.
"Time to consult experts, to study the legal texts thoroughly, to analyse the consequences on the basis of interdisciplinary studies, to propose amendments and to enable a genuine parliamentary debate," they said.
Restricting this time for debate increases the risk that measures, which have not been sufficiently evaluated and are difficult to rectify afterwards, will be adopted. FIRM calls for the urgent procedure to be avoided in reforms of this scale that affect human rights.
Additionally, the report also contains concrete recommendations for the Federal Government and the Parliament. For instance, FIRM recommends conducting a thorough impact assessment on the human rights of those affected before adopting a reform that entails a regression in social rights.
