UNICEF concerned over rising number of children in Dutch emergency asylum shelters

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – UNICEF has expressed concern over an increase in the number of children and unaccompanied minors in Dutch emergency asylum shelters, local media reported on Wednesday.

There were 3,969 children in emergency shelters, including 1,844 unaccompanied minors, in the Netherlands as of the end of August, NL Times said, citing data from the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA).

UNICEF has expressed grave concern about children’s safety following the rise in the number of unaccompanied children in the country's emergency asylum shelters.

In these shelters, the children have no privacy and no access to education, said UNICEF Netherlands Director Suzanne Laszlo, according to broadcaster NOS.

They are often left unsupervised, sleep alone in dirty beds, and lack access to clean sanitary facilities, she said, warning that this can cause health problems.

"How well these children are cared for varies per location and is very unclear, which is worrying," she was quoted as saying by the NOS.

She also called on the Dutch parliament to take the necessary steps in an attempt to obligate local authorities to provide more shelters for asylum seekers "as quickly as possible."

Although they stay in regular asylum seeker centers throughout the country, municipalities have opened temporary emergency shelters in gyms and event halls as the number of asylum seekers is increasing beyond capacity.

These emergency shelters are now home to over 23,000 irregular migrants.