OVV urges minister to overhaul asylum children's emergency shelters within six months
The Dutch Safety Board issued an urgent recommendation that the minister of Asylum and Migration improve conditions for children in emergency asylum shelters within half a year.
The Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid (OVV) released a report urging the minister of Asylum and Migration to address the unsafe environment of emergency asylum shelters for children within six months. The board notes that roughly 6,900 of the asylum-seeking children are housed in these facilities, which were intended as short-term solutions but have become long-term. It attributes the problem to policy decisions and crisis-mode management rather than an external emergency, resulting in inadequate space, privacy, care, education and heightened risk of violence.
OVV chair Chris van Dam called for ending reliance on emergency sites and investing in a durable accommodation system. While the OVV cannot impose sanctions, it stresses that its recommendations are binding and expects a ministerial response within the stipulated period.
