Belgian watchdogs warn of sharp decline in asylum seekers’ rights

BRUSSELS

Two federal watchdogs accused the Belgian government of deliberately undermining asylum seekers' rights, warning that the country is facing a deepening humanitarian crisis, Belga news agency reported on Friday.

The Federal Institute for the Protection of Human Rights (FIRM) and the migration centre Myria said Belgium has failed to improve its reception system since their last critical report a year ago. Instead, they warned, new policies risk further eroding fundamental rights.

The organizations pointed to thousands of court orders that remain unexecuted, including more than 15,000 national and 2,300 European rulings since 2022 obliging the state to provide shelter.

By September 2025, unpaid fines linked to these rulings had reached 10.7 million euros. Authorities, according to the watchdogs, are "knowingly accepting an inhuman and degrading situation, unworthy of a state governed by the rule of law."

As of Sept. 8, more than 1,900 asylum seekers were still waiting for a reception place. Legally entitled to accommodation from day one, they face average delays of three to four months and are often forced to rely on friends, humanitarian shelters, squats, or the streets.

Instead of expanding capacity, the federal government has announced cuts. The budget of Fedasil, the federal agency for the reception of asylum seekers, is set to decrease by 83% by 2029, reception capacity is expected to shrink, and financial allowances as an alternative to housing will be abolished. Disputes over reception are also to be moved from labor courts to the Council for Alien Law Litigation, a reform critics say could undermine fair trial guarantees.

In 2023, the European Court of Human Rights condemned Belgium in the Camara judgment for failing to execute a domestic ruling to house an asylum seeker, describing a "systemic failure" to respect court decisions.