Rights groups slam Dutch government’s plan to house refugees on cruise ships

The Dutch Council for Refugees and the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) criticised the Netherland government's move to house non-Ukrainian refugees on cruise ships.

The Dutch government has said that its asylum centres are already overcrowded as reports claimed at least 3,000 refugees could be housed on cruise ships from September.

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According to reports, over 60,000 Ukrainians have poured into the country ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced "special military operation" against Ukraine in February.

Reports claimed the Dutch government has already commissioned three ships, however, it is yet to house refugees due to a reported lack of ports to anchor the ships.

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UNHCR's Netherlands wing warned that the government's plan for refugees was “undesirable” even as the council for refugees, VluchtelingenWerk also spoke out against the Dutch government.

A United Nations survey last week said that mostUkrainian refugees wanted to return but were held back due to the current war with Russia. According to the UNHCR, at least 5,650,000 Ukrainian refugees have fled to countries across Europe, including Romania, Poland, Moldova and others.

Apart from the refugees fleeing Ukraine, UN's International Organization for Migration has said there were over 6 million internally displaced people in Ukraine.

(With inputs from Agencies)

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