Ombudsman: confiscating tents and criminalising aid workers ‘not proper and inappropriate’

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April 25, 2024
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This morning, the Dutch National Ombudsman published the report “Forbidden to offer help?” (Verboden hulp te bieden?). The complaint filed by MiGreat and Doorbraak, assisted by lawyers from PILP, about the confiscation of tents and criminalisation of aid workers at the application centre of the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) in Ter Apel was declared well-founded by the Ombudsman. The municipality, police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office state they will “make other considerations” in the future, paying attention to the welfare of asylum seekers.

From August to October 2022, tents and other camping equipment were distributed on the field in Ter Apel. This was much needed, as hundreds of people slept on the field. Even children and  babies sometimes were unsheltered for hours in the rain. Enforcers from the municipality Westerwolde and police officers repeatedly confiscated the tents. The Ombudsman now rules that this was “not proper and inappropriate”.

The report states: ‘The Ombudsman finds that the public authorities acted improperly in this case by taking protective equipment or seizing tents and warning the citizens who sprang into action with punitive action. The humanitarian needs of the waiting asylum seekers were not adequately addressed.’

In the report, the authorities involved (municipality, police and public prosecutor) acknowledge that insufficient attention was paid to the humanitarian aspect, the duty of care for the asylum seekers in the field. The authorities resolve to consider the welfare of the asylum seekers in the future, and the possibility of providing other forms of shelter and protection.

Roos Ykema (spokesperson MiGreat, and 1 of the aid workers): ‘We are happy with the Ombudsman’s verdict. There is finally recognition of the injustice done to people on the field in Ter Apel. By taking away tents, the municipality and police have put people in danger. We are counting on the authorities to keep their promise and provide humane shelter themselves, instead of taking away tents.’

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