For almost a year, thousands of refugees in the Netherlands have had to sleep in tents, gymnasiums and halls in what the Refugee Council says are "inhumane conditions." 

The organization wants to force the government to guarantee privacy, health care, a bed, decent food, clean showers and toilets as well as protection from the elements.

It had warned at the beginning of July that it would take the government to court if asylum seekers were not sheltered according to the minimum requirements by August 1.

The Refugee Council filed the lawsuit in The Hague on Wednesday, announcing: "Today we are going to court for a solution to this reception crisis."

Unsustainable situation

In the past few weeks, the situation at the national asylum center at Ter Apel in the north-east of the country, on the German border, has reached crisis point.

The camp is badly overcrowded, and hundreds of people have had to sleep outside or on chairs in waiting rooms. "The situation has fallen below the limit," the Refugee Council said.

The state secretary for asylum issues, Eric van den Burg, previously spoke of an "unsustainable situation." He wants to force municipalities to accept asylum seekers. The court case is scheduled to start on September 15.

Austerity measures

The reception crisis in the Netherlands has been caused by cutbacks and closures of asylum centers. There are now no places available for migrants and waiting times are increasing, said Frank Candel, the chair of the Refugee Council.

"This is not about force majeure, but about policies which have been failing for years," he added.

The 60,000 refugees from Ukraine are not affected by the crisis, as they have special status which means that they are housed by Dutch municipalities or in private homes.

With dpa