Bans on begging in 253 Belgian municipalities do not respect human rights

253 Belgian cities and municipalities apply begging bans that violate human rights, according to the Federal Institute for Human Rights (IFDH) and the Service for the fight against poverty, precariousness and social exclusion, in the joint publication of a casebook on begging bans in Belgium.

 

In order to produce this Cahier, the Service interfédéral de lutte contre la pauvreté and the IFDH first analysed the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) of 19 January 2000 in the case of Lacatus v. Switzerland¹. In this judgment, the ECHR recognised for the first time that the right to beg could benefit from the protection of the European Convention on Human Rights. This judgment also has important implications for Belgium. Although begging was decriminalised in Belgium in 1993, beggars still run the risk of being punished through measures taken by municipalities under their police powers. By banning begging, cities and municipalities run the risk of violating the rights and undermining the human dignity of beggars.

 

 

According to the ECHR, human dignity is violated when people living in poverty are prevented from seeking help from others to meet their basic needs by begging. Similarly, Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights guarantees the right of individuals to establish relations with others, including by seeking their help. "The ECHR has recognised that begging is a fundamental right and that a general ban on begging is therefore unacceptable under any circumstances," concludes Martien Schotsmans, Director of the IFDH.

 

Of the 581 Belgian cities and towns surveyed by the IFDH and the Service de lutte contre la pauvreté, 305 have regulations on begging. "For 253 of these, the analysis shows that at least one provision in these regulations is problematic. Examples of problematic provisions are the ban on begging with animals, the ban on begging with wounds or mutilations, or the ban on begging in certain  ," explains Henk Van Hootegem, coordinator of the Interfederal Anti-Poverty Service.