Brussels MENA Center Closes as Minor Disappearances Rise

The Amran reception center in Brussels — a specialized facility for unaccompanied foreign minors (MENA) — will close its doors on August 1, 2026, even as the number of “worrying disappearances” of these vulnerable children has risen by 14% between 2024 and 2025, according to data from the Belgian Guardianship Service.

Context

The center, operated by the NGO BelRefugees since 2022 with a capacity of 66 beds, is shutting down as a direct consequence of budget cuts imposed by Federal Asylum and Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA). The closure is part of a broader reduction of reception places under the “Brussels Deal” — an agreement established in 2022 that allocated €42 million annually to fund 2,000 reception places for asylum seekers in the Brussels-Capital Region.

According to RTBF, the federal government initially announced the removal of 300 of the 2,000 places on July 10, before escalating the cuts to 700 places on July 16 — effectively halving the program. The decision has triggered strong condemnation from Brussels regional ministers and child rights advocates.

Rising Disappearances

The Guardianship Service recorded 703 total disappearances of unaccompanied minors in 2025, down from 774 in 2024. However, “worrying disappearances” — defined as cases involving children under 13, those requiring medical care, those with disabilities, or those believed to be in serious danger — rose from 101 to 115 over the same period, a 14% increase.

In 2024, out of 774 minors reported missing, only 246 were found. Authorities still do not know what happened to the majority. The Guardianship Service has cautioned that these figures are estimates and should be interpreted with care.

Voices of Concern

Soleyman Laqdim, the General Delegate for Children’s Rights, warned of the extreme vulnerability of these children. “Words have meaning: these are minors, foreign and unaccompanied. Three characteristics that combine and expose them to multiple forms of exploitation,” he told RTBF. He highlighted risks including labor exploitation, forced begging, criminal networks, drug trafficking, and sexual exploitation, recounting the case of a 13-year-old girl who “was prostituting herself in a construction site cabin to buy a sandwich.”

Mehdi Kassou, Director General of BelRefugees, described the young residents as “prey for networks.” He noted that Belgian and European figures show these children are the primary victims of trafficking and criminal networks. “And at the same time, we reduce resources and close facilities capable of hosting them,” he said, as reported by RTBF.

Political Fallout

Brussels Minister for Social Action Ahmed Laaouej (PS) called the decision “brutal” and accused the federal government of imposing cuts without consultation. “Closing a reception center in three weeks is not serious management,” he said. He warned that the removal of places would inevitably shift pressure onto Brussels’ emergency aid and homelessness services, which are already severely saturated.

Dirk De Smedt, Brussels Minister for Finance (Anders), accused Van Bossuyt of “playing with statistics” by regularly changing registration conditions for the waiting list. “She presents us with a fait accompli, while knowing perfectly well that we won’t be able to solve this problem quickly and that people will end up on the street,” he told RTBF.

Minister Van Bossuyt defended the cuts, arguing that the waiting list for reception places had shrunk from over 4,000 to approximately 1,000. “It’s therefore obvious that we need to reassess this system, because we are currently financing 1,000 too many places,” she said. “Taxpayers’ money must be used wisely.”

European Dimension

The crisis in Brussels reflects a broader European pattern. The cross-border investigative project “Lost in Europe” found that over 51,000 disappearances of unaccompanied migrant minors were recorded across Europe between 2021 and 2023. Belgium alone recorded 2,241 such disappearances during that period, as InfoMigrants reported. The most common nationalities among disappeared minors were Afghanistan, Algeria, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Morocco.

What’s Next

The Amran center’s 66 current residents will be transferred to other facilities, but BelRefugees warns that this will occupy beds intended for new arrivals, effectively reducing overall capacity. Twenty-one qualified socio-educational professionals will lose their jobs on July 31.

Child rights advocates warn that without adequate reception structures, unaccompanied minors become far more vulnerable to exploitation. As Soleyman Laqdim put it: “Under the guise of saving money, we risk displacing the problem. Leaving children to survive on the streets probably costs society much more.”

The cuts have deepened tensions between the N-VA-led federal government and the Brussels regional government, raising questions about Belgium’s commitment to protecting some of its most vulnerable residents as the EU Migration Pact enters into force.