Foundation for Access to Rights - FAR appealed in court  the decisions of the Council of Ministers of 16 November 2022, on the basis of which the citizens of Ukraine with temporary protection were accommodated in the distribution centre of the Ministry of Interior in the town of Elhovo, and their food distribution was terminated. The Decisions amend the terms of the Humanitarian Assistance Programme by removing the obligation to
provide food in the accommodation facilities, with no alternative provided. The lightning fast deprivation of food and dooming to starvation of approximately 12 800 current beneficiaries of the Programme, together with Ukrainian refugees who are yet to arrive, has triggered an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. 

In its arguments against the decision, FAR argues that under European (art. 13, para. 2 of Directive 2001/55/EC) and national law Bulgaria is obliged to provide humane reception conditions to persons with temporary protection in need, including means of subsistence. The authorities should also take special care of vulnerable groups (art. 13, para. 4 of Directive 2001/55/EC). The obligations arising from these provisions apply throughout the full duration of temporary protection. The decision of the Council of Ministers contradicts the legal requirements as it immediately stops the subsistence of all persons with temporary protection without taking into account their specific vulnerability. 

FAR is also appealing against the mandatory accommodation of all refugees from Ukraine after 15 November 2022 in the distribution centre in Elhovo for up to 30 days. According to the Foundation, the compulsory and automatic "accommodation" of persons seeking or granted temporary protection in the Elhovo van centre restricts the right to free movement and can even be considered as de facto "detention", which was carried out without an individual administrative act and individual assessment of proportionality. In this respect, it should be stressed that the main and principal function of the distribution centre in Elhovo is to serve as a short-term detention facility for "foreigners with an unidentified identity" (Article 44(13) of the Aliens Act). Persons with temporary protection are recognised refugees with a clear identity, which makes their forced accommodation absolutely illegal.

The forced accommodation in Elhovo is also contrary to the requirement for Bulgaria to provide "appropriate accommodation" for persons with temporary protection (art. 13, para. 1 of Directive 2001/55/EC). In the present case, the Elhovo distribution centre lacks basic living and sanitary conditions to accommodate people in winter conditions, especially those belonging to "vulnerable groups". At the same time, the contested decision makes the stay in the distribution centre in Elhovo a mandatory condition for access to the Humanitarian Assistance Programme and to fundamental rights.

The cessation of the provision of meals to the state-dependent Ukrainian refugees and restricting their right to free movement violates a number of provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria and of international treaties to which Bulgaria is a party, concerning the right to life and personal dignity, the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment, the right to free movement, the healthcare, the right to food and protection
from hunger, the right to liberty, the right to respect for family life, and others.

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