War in Ukraine: show solidarity with refugees

When war breaks out, people often prefer to stay at home or close to their country of origin as long as they can. That makes it easier to quickly return once their home is safe again. Whether the war in Ukraine will force many people to leave depends on how the conflict develops and how great the risk becomes of civilians being victims of the war.

We already have seen media reports of civilians fleeing the Ukrainian capital city, Kyiv, in great numbers. Many Ukrainians are on their way to the border with Poland.

• Read more: How you can support Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands (in Dutch)

Prepare for all scenarios

Europe must be prepared for all possible scenarios, including large-scale reception of Ukrainian refugees. Countries that border Ukraine ¬– such as Poland, Hungary and Moldova -– are preparing to receive Ukrainian refugees and must be supported in this effort.

The Netherlands must also prepare for the possible arrival of Ukrainian refugees here. Decision and departure moratorium needed In view of these developments, the Dutch asylum policy towards Ukrainians is outdated. Ukraine is still on the list of safe countries of origin.

We call on State Secretary Van der Burg to remove Ukraine from this list and to impose a decision and departure moratorium for Ukrainian asylum seekers. This means that Ukrainians who apply for asylum in the Netherlands will not be deported, and no decision will be made about their asylum application until the asylum policy for Ukrainians has been adjusted to reflect the new security situation.

That would allow them to take shelter in an asylum seekers’ centre while the conflict develops and they learn what it means for their future.

The Netherlands must offer a warm welcome to Ukrainians who seek our protection, and they can count on the Dutch Council for Refugees. We have a team of staff and volunteers available in each asylum seekers’ centre who can listen to refugees, inform them of their rights and duties, and guide them from the moment they arrive through integration into our society.

We also work with partner organisations that work for refugee protection in countries of first reception, such as Poland and Hungary.
Nederland moet Oekraïners die bij ons bescherming zoeken met open armen ontvangen. Zij kunnen daarbij ook op ons rekenen. In elk asielzoekerscentrum staat een team met medewerkers en vrijwilligers van VluchtelingenWerk klaar. Zij bieden vluchtelingen een luisterend oor, wijzen hen op rechten en plichten, en begeleiden hen vanaf het moment van binnenkomst tot en met de integratie in onze samenleving. Ook werken we samen met partnerorganisaties die zich in landen van eerste opvang als Polen en Hongarije inzetten voor vluchtelingenbescherming.