Europe slaps Netherlands on human rights issue

According to the Ninls Muiznieks, High Commissioner for Human Rights of the human rights organization Council of Europe, undocumented immigrants in the Netherlands are in legal limbo and this situation needs to be urgently addressed.

Muiznieks pleads for an approach consistent with human rights. Where return is impossible or extremely difficult, the concerned person must be able to remain in the Netherlands, he said.

Some undocumented immigrants end up on the streets or in camps if they don't succeed in getting access to the existing emergency shelters. Muiznieks calls this a concern because "everyone, regardless of immigration status, have the right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing and shelter."

The Commissioner welcomes the steps taken to give residence permits to certain immigrants who can not be returned. He also hailed the so called children's pardon for young asylum seekers whose application was rejected, but who have been living in the Netherlands for a certain time. But he feels that the Dutch authorities should make access to these schemes easier.