AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Netherlands will tackle what its refugee council has called “inhumane” conditions at its main reception centre for asylum seekers by increasing capacity and ordering regional authorities to accept more refugees, Dutch broadcaster RTL Nieuws reported.
It cited a leaked draft of the plan a day after the government announced an investigation into the death of a 3-month-old baby at the Ter Apel shelter, where over 700 asylum seekers have been sleeping rough outdoors recently.
Charlotte Hees, a spokesperson for the Justice Ministry, which oversees asylum policy, said she could not confirm the RTL report “because there are still negotiations going on”.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who in June said he was “ashamed” with regard to the persistent problems at the country’s sole asylum seeker intake centre, was expected to announce plans later on Friday after a cabinet meeting.
The Dutch Council for Refugees has said conditions at the Tel Aper centre in the northeastern province of Groningen are “inhumane” and violate European Union law.
The baby died of “unknown causes” in a sports gymnasium being used as a makeshift shelter for newcomers at the shelter with nowhere else to sleep, according to Leon Veldt, spokesman for the Dutch Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers.
A lawsuit by the refugee council, due to be heard on Sept. 15, demands improved conditions at the reception centre by Oct. 1, including access to clean water, showers, privacy, adequate food and healthcare.
(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
