NGOs Report Belgium's Non-Reception Policy Impacts Asylum Seekers in 2025; ECtHR Condemns Belgium
A new NGO report reveals Belgium's «non-reception» policy left 2,000 asylum seekers without basic rights in 2025. The ECtHR condemned Belgium again, ordering compensation for violations. Luxembourg's ASTI urges regularisation for undocumented people. The Dutch parliament adopted a «two-tier» asylum law, tightening family reunification, while rejecting a law to criminalize undocumented status.
A new NGO report highlights the impact of Belgium’s «non-reception» policy on asylum applicants in 2025. Seven organizations, including ECRE members Caritas International, Doctors of the World, and Flemish Refugee Action, published their sixth joint report on April 23. It notes that fundamental rights, including access to accommodation, food, medical care, and legal assistance, are not respected, with at least 2,000 people still needing placement by the end of 2025. The report calls for dignified reception, increased capacity, sufficient funding, respect for court decisions, social assistance, and a distribution plan.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) again condemned Belgium on April 9 for failing to meet asylum applicants' basic needs. The ECtHR ruled Belgium violated ECHR Articles 3, 6, and 34 regarding four applicants who arrived in 2022 and lacked accommodation or support for months. Belgium was ordered to pay €5,000 to €12,000 in compensation. This is the latest of over 10,000 court rulings against Belgium since 2021 for its treatment of asylum seekers.
In Luxembourg, the Support Association for Immigrant Workers (ASTI) calls for the regularisation of undocumented people. Responding to draft laws on the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, ASTI urged the government to undertake an «exceptional regularisation of people already present in the country who are staying irregularly.» ASTI Director Sérgio Ferreira noted a previous regularisation in 2013 and argued that without it, reforms would be «incomplete and profoundly unjust.»
The Dutch parliament’s upper house adopted a «two-tier» asylum system law on April 21, distinguishing between international protection beneficiaries: those facing persecution (sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion) and those fleeing war or climate change. The law also tightens family reunification rules for the second category, requiring a two-year wait, suitable living space, and adequate income. Simultaneously, the Senate rejected the «Asylum Emergency Measures Act,» which included an amendment to criminalize being undocumented. The Dutch Refugee Council expressed «mixed feelings and many concerns for refugees,» stating the new system makes family reunification «almost impossible for most refugees.»