Reception of asylum seekers

According to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, a refugee is someone who has a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country. Reasons for persecution may include origin, religion, nationality, political opinion or sexual preference.

Refugees can be granted asylum when they are at risk of torture or inhuman or degrading punishment. A person can also be granted asylum when the situation in a country is particularly unsafe, such as when there is a war.

More than 150 states have joined the UN Refugee Convention. The Netherlands did so in 1956. Every state, which has signed the treaty, must abide by its rules. This means, among other things, that refugees and asylum seekers may not be sent back to a country where they are in danger. In the Netherlands, during the asylum procedure, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) decides on the application for asylum and whether the asylum seeker is recognized as a refugee.

Asylum seekers are persons who have left their own country and seek protection in another country. When they apply for asylum they invoke the UN Refugee Convention and want to be recognized as refugees. They must apply for asylum at the application center in Ter Apel or at Schiphol to start the asylum procedure. Until they are recognized as refugees, they are called asylum seekers and have fewer rights.

With the Spread Law (effective Feb. 1, 2024) and the enormous pressure on centers such as Ter Apel and Budel, the municipality itself has taken the initiative to find a location to create a shelter. 

For Son en Breugel, this means we are being asked to accommodate 70 people.

From a human point of view, we must and want to contribute to the reception of people who have left their own country and are seeking protection in the Netherlands. The city council also asked us to actively seek opportunities to do so. See Motie noodopvang vluchtelingen pvdagl e.a. (sonenbreugel.nl).

We assume a minimum of 48 and a maximum of 70 asylum seekers. The exact number is not known. This is because COA has not yet submitted an application for the realization of the shelter.

The municipality of Son en Breugel bought the plot. That way we keep control. The costs for the reception of asylum seekers lie with COA. According to the Spread Law, the municipality is responsible for organizing reception locations for asylum seekers. 

We stand together in the Netherlands to receive refugees and asylum seekers. Besides Ukrainian refugees, other people who leave their country and seek protection in another country also need our help. We must and want to help with this.

Every municipality must contribute to the reception of asylum seekers. Although we were still waiting for information from the COA at that point and therefore did not have any further details, we felt it was important to involve the municipal council and residents in the process at an early stage. This was difficult, because, like the municipal council and residents, we were still waiting for further information.

The college took responsibility for making the site selection. The municipality then made the site available to COA. Local residents have been informed about this. They will be involved in the process of realizing the shelter.

That is not yet known. Once COA has submitted a plan, more information will follow.

We reviewed locations on Veerstraat and in the outlying area in Sonniuswijk with COA in the spring of 2023. These locations turned out to be especially suitable for larger groups of asylum seekers. Because we did not consider this appropriate for our scale and because other developments would interfere with these locations, these sites were rejected.

Subsequently, no new sites were found. When the plot at 36 Van den Elsen Street was put up for sale, we decided to purchase it.

At the time of the purchase, we had not yet consulted with COA about this location. Should the location not have been found suitable by COA, the possibility existed to use this location as a development location for housing, for example. This will still happen when this location is no longer needed as a reception location. 

This location does not stand in the way of current and future (residential) developments; the possibility offered by the location is appropriate to the scale of our municipality. There are facilities nearby. 

The College of Mayor and Aldermen is authorized to purchase the plot and building. See article 160 paragraph 1e of the Municipal Law: 'The college is in any case authorized to decide on private legal acts of the municipality'. You can view the Municipal Law on the Internet: https://wetten.overheid.nl.

If you think your home will lose value due to the arrival of a shelter, you can apply for disadvantage compensation. If you are entitled to this under the law, you will receive compensation for loss.

You can submit a request for this when the decision is final, i.e. when all spatial procedures are completed.

That is not possible at this time. 

You can. You can send an e-mail to Simon Le Fèvre at locatievandenelsenstraat@sonenbreugel.nl. Don't forget to include your name and phone number.