News | Resettlement of 287 refugees in 2023
Belgium resettled 287 refugees last year, mostly Congolese and Syrians.
Fedasil resettled 287 vulnerable refugees in Belgium last year, mostly Congolese refugees from Rwanda and Syrian refugees from Jordan and Egypt.
Despite the many efforts, Belgium's commitment to resettle 500 refugees could not be fulfilled. On the one hand, the saturation of Fedasil's reception network was a significant obstacle for resettlement but on the other hand, the creation of a reception centre specially dedicated to resettlement marked a turning point.
A specific reception centre
Of the 287 refugees resettled in 2023, 190 passed through our new reception centre located in Alveringem (West Flanders). This centre, managed by Fedasil, is exclusively dedicated to the reception and support of resettled refugees. With a capacity of 115 reception places, the centre offers the Belgian resettlement programme perspectives of continuity and growth.
More detailed information is available here: 2023 resettlement figures.
Alternative reception locations
In 2024, Fedasil will also invest in alternative reception locations (outside its regular reception network). Cooperation with civil society will be central, particularly via Community Sponsorship – a sponsorship programme where volunteers receive, guide and accompany resettled refugees for a year in the Belgian society.
Resettlement is a program run by the UNHCR which involves selecting and transferring migrants from a State where they have sought protection to another State which agrees to receive them as refugees. Since the beginning of the Belgian resettlement programme in 2013, nearly 5,000 refugees have already been resettled. More information: https://www.fedasil.be/en/resettlement.
Mieke Candaele