700 asylum seekers stay in abandoned building in Brussels as Belgium does not provide shelter

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - DECEMBER 16: For several months about 700 asylum seekers are trying to survive in an abandoned building in the center of Brussels where they took shelter due to the decrease in air temperatures in Belgium. The refugees mostly from Afghanistan, the rest coming from Burundi, Morocco, Algeria, Syria, Eritrea, and Somalia have been staying in the 7-story building on Paleis Street despite the risks of various diseases. Belgium has been grappling with a crisis concerning the lack of shelter for asylum seekers for more than one year. According to Article 3 of the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees, the contracting state must provide shelter and reasonable material conditions to those who applied for asylum in their country. However, Belgium is not fulfilling its obligation, citing that the refugee reception centers are full. One of the asylum seekers Hitimana Jean de Dieu, 41, from Burundi stated that he is a priest and he immigrated to Belgium due to the unfavorable security conditions in his country. Hundreds of refugees line up almost every morning in front of the headquarters of the Belgian Federal Asylum Seeker Reception Agency (Fedasil) in Brussels. Fedasil received more than 4 thousand asylums in September but allowed more than 30 percent above its maximum capacity. (Footage by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)