Authorities in the Netherlands were investigating the death of a baby at the country's main reception center for asylum seekers in Ter Apel. The child died during the early morning hours on Wednesday.

Residents of the Ter Apel facility were reportedly shocked by the death of the baby, and were being offered support. Staff members were also shocked by the occurrence.

State Secretary Eric van der Burg, who handles the country's asylum policy, also said he was "deeply shocked" by the death.

Parliamentarians were horrified by the death of a baby in the sports hall at the asylum registration center in Ter Apel.

The United Nations refugee organization UNHCR also criticized the situation. “It is very sad,” said Andrea Vonkeman, head of UNHCR Netherlands.

From Thursday, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) will provide medical and psychological care to asylum seekers outside the gate of the asylum registration center in Ter Apel. It is the first time MSF has offered medical assistance in the Netherlands.

“Doctors Without Borders has been around for 50 years, but it is the first time that we will offer emergency aid in the Netherlands, and we are doing it because the Dutch government has let it go this far, said Judith Sargentini, director of MSF Netherlands. “The conditions in which the people at Ter Apel find themselves are inhumane.”

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) violates children’s rights. The University of Amsterdam concluded this after investigating the intake interviews IND officials held with child asylum seekers over the past four years.

https://nltimes.nl/