The Belgian chapter of the international NGO Doctors of the World has issued a call for structural measures to aid vulnerable populations.
On Tuesday, the organisation Doctors of the World (Médecins du Monde) urged for structural measures that can provide shelter for everyone in need. It also called on national authorities to end the policy of not providing reception, which it claims "violates the fundamental rights of people seeking protection every day."
In a statement, Doctors of the World condemned the recent eviction of a camp along the Humanitarian Hub in Brussels, during which the police "displaced 15 to 20 people and destroyed some of their belongings."
The organisation views this incident as part of a broader policy of "dispersing and making poverty invisible" in a context where emergency accommodation systems are overwhelmed. Rather than addressing poor housing conditions, such interventions worsen the humanitarian situation, the NGO stated.
"This operation appears particularly cynical and ineffective as it occurs within a double context of institutionalised non-welcoming and chronic saturation of emergency accommodation," Doctors of the World criticised.
"On one hand, the Belgian state persists in a structural non-welcoming policy towards international protection seekers, leaving dozens of people on the streets daily in clear violation of their fundamental rights and despite multiple court condemnations. On the other hand, emergency accommodation in Brussels is completely overwhelmed, unable to cater to the needs of the men, women, and children forced to survive in undignified conditions," the organisation detailed.
"No one sleeps outside by choice," the NGO emphasised, calling on the authorities to fulfil their legal obligations to ensure the dignity of these individuals. "We demand structural measures to provide shelter for all, regardless of administrative status, and the immediate suspension of any evacuation not accompanied by concrete and sustainable housing solutions," the organisation further asserted.
