welcoming only Ukrainians is discrimination

Municipalities that only want to receive Ukrainian asylum seekers are guilty of discrimination. So says the Institute for Human Rights (CvdRM).

State Secretary Eric van der Burg for Security and Justice offered this option to municipalities in order to create more space in other municipalities for asylum seekers from other countries. This could provide a partial solution to problems with Ter Apel’s overcrowded application center. However, this solution is against the law, concludes the commission.

The same applies to the fact that thousands of shelters intended for Ukrainians and which remain unused are not made available to asylum seekers by the municipalities. The Constitution prohibits discrimination based on origin, unless there are legal exceptions.

How did it come to this at Ter Apel? NOS op 3 has it figured out:

There is no such legal exception, specifies the CvdRM. Since April, there is the regulation on the reception of displaced persons in Ukraine, which is linked to the European directive on temporary protection. Thanks to this arrangement, Ukrainians do not have to go through the normal asylum procedure, but are immediately granted a special residence status. The program also allows the government to compel municipalities to host Ukrainians.

However, the Committee of the Regions concludes that this provision is not a legitimate legal exception to distinguish between Ukrainians and other asylum seekers when it comes to providing reception facilities. The fact that municipalities may be forced to receive Ukrainians does not mean that other asylum seekers are less entitled to a good reception.

A distinction could be made if Ukrainians had been in a more disadvantageous position than other refugees, but this is not the case. If the cabinet offers municipalities the possibility of receiving only Ukrainians, it legitimizes discrimination, according to the council.

The firm has struggled for months to find accommodation for asylum seekers. Emergency shelters have been opened in various municipalities, but problems in Ter Apel persist. This is why the firm plans, among other things, to welcome asylum seekers on cruise ships. This will not happen at sea, but possibly on moored ships.

According to the CoRM, this is an emergency measure that would not have been necessary if there had been sufficient structural support. This can be achieved, among other things, if the government has the power to oblige municipalities to create reception areas. The cabinet is now working to regulate this legally. The council asks the cabinet to act quickly with the new law.