Dutch decision to fund assistance for homeless migrants

Dutch decision to fund emergency assistance for homeless migrants “welcome change of position” - UN experts

GENEVA (28 January 2015) – The decision by the Government of the Netherlands to provide funding to help municipalities that offer emergency shelters for homeless migrants is a welcome change of position, three human rights experts* said on Wednesday.

The announcement by the Dutch Government represents a significant change in the Netherlands’ longstanding refusal to provide emergency assistance to this group, and comes after strong urging by international and regional human rights bodies, including the Human Rights Council’s three Special Rapporteurs.

“We commend the Dutch government for recognising by its change of position that anyone, irrespective of whether their stay in a country is lawful, has the right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing and housing, and that the responsible government is obliged to allocate resources consistent with its international human rights obligations,” said the UN experts.

In December 2014, the experts raised this matter with the Dutch Government and urged them to give homeless migrants emergency help before Christmas.**

The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, a body that oversees the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, had previously expressed concern about this problem. And the European Committee of Social Rights, which monitors the European Social Charter, decided in July 2014 that the Netherlands is violating the right to emergency assistance of adult homeless irregular migrants. While the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has still to determine what action it will take in response, the finding of a violation by the Committee of Social Rights will not be affected. The UN experts thus made clear that immediate action was required.

The UN experts look forward to hearing from the Government in more detail about the next steps to ensure that municipalities receive adequate funding to implement their responsibilities. They observed that they will closely monitor developments and urged the government to respond to their request for further details as soon as possible.

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