Two children's rights orgs. criticize how Dutch gov't treats children in asylum policy

Two children’s rights organizations criticized the Dutch government for how it treats children in its asylum policy. The Children’s Rights Collective pointed out that the number of children in emergency shelters increased by 65 percent in one year, despite a court ruling ordering the government to not make children stay in these bare-bones shelters. And UNICEF, the United Nations’ children’s rights organization, warned that the Schoof I Cabinet’s plans for an emergency asylum law would only create more uncertainty and instability for children who are already in a vulnerable position.

In 2022, a Dutch court ordered the government to get children out of emergency shelters as quickly as possible due to concerns for their development, health, and safety. Almost a year after that ruling, UNICEF reported that there were still more children staying in the emergency shelters. That still hasn’t improved.

Last year, there were 3,378 children in emergency shelters, which often consist of little more than stretchers in a sports hall. At the beginning of July 2024, that had increased by 65 percent to 5,566 children, according to the Children’s Rights Collective.

“Children’s rights are being trampled on day in and day out in emergency shelters,” said Marc Dullaert, chairman of the Children’s Rights Collective, RTL Nieuws reports. According to the organization, many of these over 5,500 children can’t go to school and don’t have access to medical care and vaccinations. “This is a self-created problem caused by mismanagement. The government itself caused this problem by cutting too far in the shelter capacity. Many children are now the victims of this.”

“The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child [UNICEF] has already reprimanded the Netherlands for the bad situation of children in emergency shelters. Our new monitor shows today that the Netherlands is really doing far too little to improve this. In fact, the situation for children is getting worse now that an asylum crisis is being declared,” Dullaert said.

UNICEF raised that same concern on Tuesday, saying that the Dutch government is ignoring children’s rights with its plans to declare an asylum crisis. “Implementing temporary, drastic measures can seriously disrupt children’s sense of control over their lives,” said Suzanne Laszlo, director of UNICEF Nederland, RTL Nieuws reports. “For children in asylum reception, who are often already in a chaotic situation, this extra layer of uncertainty is particularly worrying.”

The UN’s children’s rights organization urged the government to not lose sight of children’s rights, but keep them central. “Emergency legislation is not a solution to improve the situation of children in asylum reception centers. What they need is small-scale reception centers with access to care and education, so that they can continue to develop despite the difficult circumstances. That is what really helps children,” said Laszlo.