Security regions need clarity about responsibilities in the reception of refugees from Ukraine. This is the opinion of the Justice and Security Inspectorate after discussions with representatives of fourteen security regions, including the one in Drenthe.
According to the Inspectorate, the fourteen security regions also believe that the national government focuses more on the coordination of refugee reception. The Drenthe Security Region (VRD) says it does not recognize itself in this.
However, according to the VRD, there is a need for ‘uniformity’. “You also saw that during the corona crisis,” says a spokesperson. “It’s not helpful if one region has different rules than another.” Unfamiliarity with the reception of displaced persons still leads to differences in the approach to aid and reception in the various security regions and municipalities. “We need clarity. We have no political responsibility, that’s clear. But who exactly has what role?”
According to the VRD spokesperson, security regions have a lot on their plate. “In the corona crisis, it also gave birth to deploy security regions,” she says. “We are now also dealing with other issues with the Ukraine refugees, but that is also going well. It is hard work.” The spokesperson does emphasize that the reception in Drenthe is well organized.
Together with the municipalities, the security regions must provide a total of 75,000 reception places. Almost 60,000 places have been realised, but the lack of clarity about the reception remains, according to the Inspectorate. The Inspectorate has now passed on the collected signals to the Program Director-General for Ukrainian Displaced Persons. He is the national coordinator for the reception policy for displaced persons from Ukraine.
According to the Inspectorate, one of the bottlenecks is that not every municipality properly checks the mutual relationship when a group from Ukraine comes forward. In some cases, the adult is wrongly assumed to be the parent of minors in the company. The proportions must be well established, so that municipalities call in the guardianship organization Nidos in good time if minors are not accompanied by a parent.
There is also uncertainty about the provision of living money, to which Ukrainian refugees are entitled. Some municipalities require that refugees be included in the Personal Records Database, while this is not necessary.
The security regions are now receiving help from organizations such as the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) for the reception of Ukrainians. The Inspectorate urges that this support be continued and strengthened.