Author
Lawyers always have access to their client in detention.[1] Access is granted to UNHCR, the Children’s Rights Commissioner, Myria and some supranational human rights institutions.[2] NGOs need to get the approval from the Immigration Office’s managing director, in the form of ‘accreditations’, to get access to the detention centres.[3] In 2021, 4 NGOs (Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen, JRS Belgium, Caritas International Belgium and Ciré) founded the ‘Move coalition’ to work on topics related to administrative detention of migrants. The Move coalition has received accreditations to visit each of the detention centres on a weekly basis. The coalition’s goals are pursued in collaboration with other NGOs working in the field of migration, such as Nansen or Point d’Appui. The members of Move build on almost 20 years of experience in the field of immigration detention and possess vast expertise in the four specific pillars of the coalition:
- visits and monitoring of detention centres, in order to provide psychosocial support, neutral information and legal aid to detainees. The visitors observe the conditions in the detention centres;
- quality legal expertise offered to visitors and other legal practitioners, in order to increase access to legal defence for the detainees;
- field observations and recommendations for concrete changes are carried out under the political pillar; to better pursue its objectives, the coalition also maintains close contact with politicians;
- a media and communication pillar, that works on fundamentally questioning detention for migratory reasons in the public space.
Members of Parliament and of the judicial and executive powers can visit specific detainees if they are identified beforehand and if they can indicate to the managing director of the centre that such a visit is part of the execution of their office.[4] Journalists need the permission of the managing director of the centre and the permission of the individual asylum applicant; they are not allowed to film.[5]
The asylum applicant is entitled to visits from their direct relatives and family members for at least 1 hour a day, if they can provide a proof of their relation.[6] So called intimate visits from a person with whom the asylum applicant has a proven durable relation are allowed once a month for 2 hours.[7] All visits, except for the so called ‘undisturbed’ (intimate) ones, in case of serious illness and those by the lawyer, diplomats or representatives of public authorities, take place in the visitors’ room in the ‘discreet’ presence of staff members, who are present in the room but do not listen.[8]
[1] Article 64 Royal Decree on Closed Centres.
[2] Article 44 Royal Decree on Closed Centres.
[3] Article 45 Royal Decree on Closed Centres.
[4] Articles 33, 42 and 43 Royal Decree on Closed Centres.
[5] Articles 37 and 40 Royal Decree on Closed Centres.
[6] Article 34 Royal Decree on Closed Centres.
[7] Article 36 Royal Decree on Closed Centres.
[8] Articles 29-30 Royal Decree on Closed Centres.