Human rights in Belgium
According to international observers, human rights in Belgium are generally respected and the law and the judiciary provides effective means of addressing individual instances of abuse.
[1] However, some concerns have been reported by international human rights officials over the treatment of asylum seekers, prison overcrowding and the banning of full face veils.
[3] A 2008 United Nations report noted that Belgium had not yet ratified the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
In its 2008 annual report, the Center for Equal Opportunity and the Combat against Racism (CEOCR) warned against growing societal violence, harassment, and discrimination against Muslims.
During the year there were reports of a number of anti-Semitic acts, including attacks against persons, verbal harassment of Jews, and vandalism of Jewish property.
In April 2010, the Chamber of Representatives (the lower house) voted to ban the wearing of full face veils such as the niqāb or burqa.
While the government generally provided protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion; the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) severely criticized conditions in detention centres for migrants and asylum-seekers.
Police can enter a home without the head of household's consent when investigating a domestic violence complaint and there are government-supported shelters and telephone help lines for victims of spousal abuse.
It further recommended that Belgium “take the steps necessary to increase the percentage of women occupying leadership positions in all sectors of the society and to make regular assessments of the effectiveness of those steps.” The report asked for new legislation that would allow women to pass on their last names to their children and also requested that sexual abuse, which under Belgian law is considered a moral offense, be reclassified as a crime of violence.
[16] In 2006 and 2007, the Belgian government sought to address this problem by introducing important clauses in the Law of 15 December 1980 relating to the access to the territory, residence, establishment and removal of foreigners (the “Aliens Act”).
[11] An International Helsinki Association report issued in 2007 complained about the “use of racist and xenophobic arguments in political discourse” in Belgium, noting that in April 2006, “the leader of the Front National Party and member of the Brussels Regional Parliament Daniel Féret, was sentenced to 250 hours of community service because of incitement to racial hatred.
These and other rules regulating work hours, safety, and other issues are enforced by the Employment and Labor Relations Federal Public Service.
[11] Persons may be arrested only in the act of committing a crime or on orders issued by a judge within the previous 24 hours and defendants have the right to be informed promptly of charges against them.
[11] In response to complaints about police conduct at demonstrations held from September 29 to October 1, 2010, a United Nations report issued that year called on Belgium to ensure that police, when using force, follow the United Nations Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and that arrests are carried out in legitimate fashion.
