Van der Burg: 1700 extra places for minor asylum seekers needed

Before 1 January 1,700 extra places are needed for minor asylum seekers. State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum Affairs, VVD) writes this in a letter on Thursday letter to municipalities. According to him, there is a risk that these children will have to sleep outside in the cold or wander through municipalities in search of shelter. “I therefore urge all of you to avoid this absolute low.”

The State Secretary is also making the appeal on behalf of the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) and the guardianship organization Nidos. “I make an urgent appeal to you to extend a helping hand towards these children.”

In recent weeks, it regularly happened that unaccompanied minors (UAMs) in Ter Apel could not get a bed for the night due to a national shortage of reception facilities. They had to sleep on chairs. “With the current influx of 100 to 150 UMAs per week, the occupancy is expected to increase even further,” says Van der Burg.

The situation in Ter Apel is particularly worrying, according to the State Secretary. 55 children can be cared for there, but the childcare location has been exceeding that maximum capacity for more than a year and a half. On some days 200 UMAs are taken care of and on some days the occupancy is even more than 300. As a result, the guidance is not at the level it should be, so that hygiene, well-being and safety are at risk, writes Van der Burg. “This is unacceptable to me.”

In recent months, the government has repeatedly emphasized the urgency of this problem, but according to Van der Burg, the municipalities have not yet contributed to solutions. Among other things, he wants to realize 25 to 30 single-family homes per municipality.

dignified

The appeal to the municipalities comes shortly after the court in The Hague ruled that the reception of asylum seekers in the Netherlands is not always humane. Refugee Work Netherlands had filed a case against the state and the COA because, in their view, they should take measures to improve the reception of asylum seekers. The state must arrange the reception of asylum seekers in and around Ter Apel and in emergency reception locations immediately, or otherwise as soon as possible, the judge ruled.

According to the judge, the COA must receive asylum seekers in a dignified manner in accordance with European standards. For example, there must be immediate day and night access to drinking water and vulnerable asylum seekers, such as unaccompanied minors, may no longer be placed in crisis emergency shelters.

Also read: Does this asylum crisis resemble that of 2015? These are the numbers

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