Belgium


Share
Share

The following information is based on the Amnesty International Report 2021/22. This report documented the human rights situation in 149 countries in 2021, as well as providing global and regional analysis. It presents Amnesty International’s concerns and calls for action to governments and others.

BELGIUM 2021

Irregular migrants lacked adequate access to housing, health and education. Allegations of racial profiling by police continued. Inhumane prison conditions persisted. The police used excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrators. Belgium adopted an action plan to combat gender-based violence. The Wallonia region continued to authorize arms transfers to parties to the Yemen conflict. A court in Brussels ruled that the authorities had failed to combat climate change.

Background

In July, an international investigative journalism initiative known as the Pegasus Project revealed that several Belgian citizens and high-ranking politicians had been targeted by NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. Peter Verlinden, a journalist known for his work on human rights in Rwanda, and his wife were also targeted.

Refugees’ and migrants’ rights

In January, the federal minister for justice agreed to extradite a man to Ingushetia in the Russian Federation, despite a serious risk of torture and other grave human rights violations. At the end of the year, the extradition decision was still pending before a court.1

From late May until 21 July over 400 irregular migrants conducted a hunger strike demanding better treatment and regularization. On 15 July, the UN Special Rapporteurs on extreme poverty and human rights and on the human rights of migrants concluded that the estimated 150,000 irregular migrants in Belgium were exposed to abuse and discrimination at work in the informal sector, as well as in their access to housing, healthcare, education and justice. Following the visits of the Special Rapporteurs, the government proposed assessing the individual situation of the protesters to determine whether they could obtain residency rights. In November, five of the former hunger strikers filed a complaint against the Belgian state for not honouring the commitments made to them.

In the first seven months of the year, six Afghan nationals were forcibly returned to Afghanistan, despite the continued widespread insecurity and high levels of poverty in the country. After the Taliban takeover, no further people were forcibly returned to Afghanistan.

Every day from mid-October until the end of December tens of asylum seekers were not provided with access to housing as the numbers exceeded reception capacity.

Discrimination

Racial, ethnic and religious minorities

Civil society groups continued to receive allegations of racial profiling by the police. In May, the CERD Committee urged the authorities to prohibit racial profiling, introduce the use of stop forms and improve the collection of disaggregated data. In May, the government rejected recommendations made during the UN’s UPR process to explicitly prohibit racial profiling.

Older people

In September, a survey commissioned by Amnesty International found that 27% of people over 55 experienced abuse and that seven out of 10 faced prejudice because of their age in the French-speaking part of Belgium.

In October, the equality body UNIA confirmed that older people in care homes were at greater risk of suffering abuses of their human rights during the pandemic.

Inhumane detention conditions

Overcrowding in dilapidated prisons continued, with insufficient access for people deprived of their liberty to basic services, including healthcare and sanitary facilities. In May, the state rejected a UPR recommendation to ensure that the prison population remained below prison capacity.

Excessive use of force

In January, police used unnecessary and excessive force to disperse about 100 peaceful protesters who opposed police violence and impunity. Police arrested 245 people, including many passers-by who were not taking part in the protest. Some of the people arrested, including children, reported being ill-treated while in detention. At the end of the year, an investigation into allegations of ill-treatment by police was ongoing.

In July, the UN Committee Against Torture expressed concerns regarding ill-treatment and excessive use of force by the police, including against detainees and protesters.

Gender-based violence

In June a large-scale survey conducted by Ghent University indicated that two thirds of the Belgian population had experienced sexual violence in their lives; 81% of women and girls aged 16-69 reported having been victims of such violence. At the end of November, a national action plan against gender-based violence was adopted.

Irresponsible arms transfers

The Wallonia region continued to authorize arms transfers to members of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, despite the substantial risk that these arms could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.

Failure to prevent climate change

In June, the Brussels Court of First Instance ruled that both the federal and the federated authorities had failed to implement adequate policies to tackle the climate emergency and had thus violated the rights to life and to private life of the plaintiffs.

Belgium Newsroom



February 18, 2016 • Report

Amnesty International State of the World 2015-2016

International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rights, warned Amnesty International as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world. “Your rights are in jeopardy: they are being treated with utter contempt by many governments around the world,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

February 25, 2015 • Report

State of the World 2014/2015

This has been a devastating year for those seeking to stand up for human rights and for those caught up in the suffering of war zones. Governments pay lip service to the importance of protecting civilians. And yet the world's politicians have miserably failed to protect those in greatest need. Amnesty International believes that this can and must finally change.

May 16, 2013 • Report

Annual Report: Belgium 2013

Kingdom of Belgium Head of state King Albert II Head of government Elio Di Rupo The European Court of Human Rights found that Belgium had violated the right to a …

March 26, 2011 • Report

Europe: Open Secret: Mounting Evidence of Europe’s Complicity in Rendition and Secret Detention

Europe: Open Secret: Mounting Evidence of Europe’s Complicity in Rendition and Secret Detention Available in PDF only.

March 19, 2011 • Report

Annual Report: Belgium 2010

Head of state King Albert II Head of government Yves Leterme (replaced Herman Van Rompuy in November) Death penalty abolitionist for all crimes Population 10.6 million Life expectancy 79.5 years …

February 5, 2019 • Press Release

Yemen: UAE recklessly supplying militias with windfall of Western arms

An open source investigation published by Amnesty International today highlights a growing danger in Yemen’s conflict as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recklessly arms militias with a range of advanced …

March 22, 2016 • Press Release

Belgium: Amnesty International strongly condemns Brussels attacks

Today’s attacks in Brussels show an utter contempt for human life, Amnesty International said as it condemned them in the strongest possible terms.

February 22, 2016 • Press Release

Amnesty International’s Annual State of the World Report Slams Governments, Including the U.S., for Global Assault on Freedoms

On the launch of its 2015 State of the World report, Amnesty International USA urged President Obama to use his last year in office to bring U.S. laws and policies in line with international human rights standards.

February 18, 2016 • Press Release

Your rights in jeopardy, global assault on freedoms, warns Amnesty International

International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rights, warned Amnesty International as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world. “Your rights are in jeopardy: they are being treated with utter contempt by many governments around the world,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

March 27, 2011 • Press Release

Belgium: Belgium Full Face Veil Ban Would Breach International Law, Says Amnesty International

Amnesty International urges the Belgian Parliament not to pass a draft law which would prohibit the wearing of full face...

DONATE