Concerns for Ukrainian refugees as main Utrecht facility closes; Human trafficking risk

Dutch refugee council VluchtelingenWerk is concerned about the consequences of the closure of the main registration point for Ukrainian refugees in Utrecht. If more shelters are not created quickly in the country, the situation could last for “days or weeks,” the council for refugees fears. “For the first time since the outbreak of the war, Ukrainian refugees are standing in front of a closed door without shelter.” At the same time, the National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking said the closure of the Utrecht facility, and an earlier closure in Amsterdam, puts the refugees at a greater risk for human trafficking and sexual violence.

According to VluchtelingenWerk, the shelter in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht is currently only taking in Ukrainians in a vulnerable position. “Refugees who are not classified as ‘vulnerable’ are turned away at the door,” the organization said. “Among them are single women and several families with small children.” The organization warns that “betting on the improvisation skills of Ukrainians who have just arrived in the Netherlands” could result in refugees ending up on the street.

Many Ukrainians report to the HUB shelter in hall 5 of the Jaarbeurs upon arriving in the Netherlands. From there, they are referred to a sustainable shelter elsewhere in the country. Because all these shelters are full, the first reception shelter is overcrowded. The local safety office was, therefore, forced to temporarily close it to new people coming in on Tuesday.

The decision is understandable, but it is “a shame that none of the parties involved has taken the initiative to organize an emergency solution,” VluchtelingenWerk said. “The government, municipalities, and safety regions all refer to each other for this.” The organization advocates for formalizing the registration points “so that there is one clear point of contact if problems arise.”

"The situation in which people do not have a roof over their heads makes them even more vulnerable to human trafficking and sexual violence. We are concerned about that," said Conny Rijken, the National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking.

The National Rapporteur saw an increase in the number of reports of Ukrainian victims of human trafficking in the Netherlands in 2022, the year that Russia invaded Ukraine. That year there were 51 reports, compared to seven the year before. These all concerned victims of labor exploitation. Figures for 2023 are not yet available.

"People on the run are in a vulnerable situation that can be abused. If they have no shelter, the risk increases even more," says Rijken. For example, the refugees become dependent on someone else when it comes to housing, and are also unfamiliar with the country and the language.

Since the outbreak of war two years ago, the Netherlands has sheltered more than 100,000 Ukrainians, which the organization calls "an unprecedented achievement." In recent months, the number of available places has continued to decrease, and VluchtelingenWerk is joining the call from the Utrecht regional security office to arrange more shelter places so that the HUB in the Jaarbeurs can quickly reopen. The organization also believes there should also be a plan for the longer term. "The fact that Ukrainians in the Netherlands face a closed door should not become the new normal."

One option considered was to restart the reception of Ukrainian refugees at host families. But that is currently impossible, said Robert Zaal of Takecarebnb, one of the organizations that, until recently, arranged this form of reception through the RefugeeHomeNL partnership.

According to Zaal, the enthusiasm for taking people in has decreased considerably, and there is also less interest among Ukrainians themselves to temporarily stay in a host family.