In 2015, Fedasil began a study on the specific needs of vulnerable asylum seekers accommodated within the Belgian reception network. The first phase of this study is now finished.

Why a study on vulnerable persons?
Belgian and European legislation stipulates that special attention must be paid to these individuals. This is also one of the federal government's priorities.

This study's objective is to provide a detailed picture of the measures taken to identify vulnerable persons. The study also aims to analyse how their specific needs are taken into account.

First phase of the study
Fedasil’s study is being conducted in two phases. The first summary report is now available (see appendix) and presents several observations.

This initial phase of the study has demonstrated that a lot has already been done to optimise the identification and care of vulnerable persons within the Belgian reception network. But despite the work which has already been done, not all aspects are in place to be able to meet the reception needs of all vulnerable persons in an effective manner, both within their own reception facility and in the cooperation with external services. On the basis of these initial findings within the study, specific recommendations will consequently be proposed.

Next
The second phase will begin in 2017. The objective is to allow three types of stakeholders to express themselves (through interviews), namely workers at the reception structure, asylum seekers and external organisations.

The study will not be limited to Belgian practices since Fedasil also hopes to carry out an inventory of practices in several European countries with the assistance of the European Migration Network (EMN).