A Dutch refugee organisation has filed suit against the government of the Netherlands, citing the inhumane treatment asylum seekers had experienced in the western European country.
VluchtelingenWerk Nederland filed a lawsuit against the state at a court in The Hague on Wednesday.
As a result of austerity measures, thousands of refugees have had to live in tents or sports halls under inhumane circumstances for almost a year, the organisation argued.
It wanted to force the government to meet minimum legal requirements including privacy, health care, a bed, decent food, clean showers and toilets as well as protection from the elements.
In the past few weeks, the situation at the national asylum centre at Ter Apel in the north-east on the German border had come to a head, the refugee group said.
According to the group, the camp is overcrowded; hundreds of people have to sleep outside or on chairs in waiting rooms. “The situation has fallen below the limit,’’ the organisation asserted.
The state secretary for asylum issues, Eric van den Burg, previously spoke of an “unsustainable situation.’’ He wants to force municipalities to accept asylum seekers.
The court case is scheduled to start on Sept. 15.
A large influx of refugees had caused the crisis. It is stable at around 43,000 people per year.
In the wake of austerity measures and the closure of asylum centres, there were now no places available for refugees and waiting times were increasing, said Frank Candel, chairman of the refugee organisation.
“This is not about force majeure, but about policies which have been failing for years,’’ he added.
The approximately 60,000 refugees from Ukraine were not affected by the crisis.
They had special status and had been housed by Dutch municipalities or in people’s homes. (NAN)