Dec 22, 2023 at 4:50 PM Update: an hour ago
The municipality of Westerwolde is filing a lawsuit against the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) due to the large number of asylum seekers in Ter Apel. The municipality confirmed this after reporting about the program One today on Radio 1.
According to Mayor Jaap Velema, COA is not adhering to the administrative agreement. It states that a maximum of two thousand asylum seekers may stay in Ter Apel. “It is an unworkable and inhumane situation,” Velema said One today.
With summary proceedings on January 10, the municipality of Westerwolde wants to enforce the maximum of two thousand asylum seekers in Ter Apel. This is often exceeded due to the shortage of shelter places. There are currently 2,200 asylum seekers staying in the reception center.
The requirement does raise the question of what COA should do with new asylum seekers who report to Ter Apel. “And then? Then those people are there, and where do they go? If COA does not receive refugees, then it means that it is violating human rights,” said Associate Professor of Administrative Law Viola Bex-Reimert in One today.
Maximum number exceeded despite promise
Outgoing State Secretary Eric van der Burg (Asylum and Migration) previously promised not to exceed the maximum number, but did not keep that promise.
In a response, COA said it understands the municipality’s feelings and regrets the current situation. But according to the COA, the reception of asylum seekers is “a human matter with an administrative question and not a legal issue. A court ruling, regardless of how it turns out, does not change that.”
“We do everything we can every day to reduce the occupancy in Ter Apel,” says COA, which says the municipality has indicated many times that it is dependent on options offered by other municipalities, for example.
Inspections were critical before
According to Velema, the buildings and grounds of the reception center are not suitable for accommodating more than two thousand asylum seekers. The mayor says he is concerned about safety. “We have reached a point where the situation is no longer acceptable and legal action is required.”
The Inspectorate of Justice and Security and the Healthcare and Youth Inspectorate already expressed their concerns about the situation in Ter Apel at the beginning of November. The large number of asylum seekers not only increases the risk of people sleeping outside.
This also means that employees can no longer guarantee the “physical and emotional safety” of underage asylum seekers. In addition, people who report to Ter Apel do not always receive a medical screening on time.
2023-12-22 17:53:53
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