On Friday 2 February 2024, Amnesty International reported its concern regarding the new regulations on begging and attended the "Liichtmëssdag" (Candlemas) demonstration organised by the Luxembourg association Solidaritéit mat den Heescherten (solidarity with beggars) at the Hotel de Ville in Luxembourg City.
According to Amnesty International Luxembourg, the ban on begging in certain places in Luxembourg City affects significant aspects of the human rights of the most vulnerable people in Luxembourg. Amnesty International recommended that the Luxembourg government abandon this proposed regulation.
The association noted it is following “with concern” the development of the situation relating to the ban on begging. The notion of human dignity and the right to privacy as recognised in Europe are particularly endangered, as the European Court of Human Rights has recognised.
By begging, a person adopts a particular way of life to overcome a precarious and inhumane situation, economic and social realities that the State should help to overcome, instead of punishing or hiding, Amnesty International emphasised. The notion of private life in the European Convention on Human Rights also covers the right to personal development and the right to establish and maintain relationships with other human beings and the outside world, which also protects a zone of interaction between the individual and others which, even in a public context, can fall under “private life”.
Begging could allow underprivileged people to earn an income and alleviate their precarious situation, the organisation added. A ban on begging paired with sanctions will prevent the people concerned from making contact with other people to obtain help which constitutes, for them, one of the possibilities of meeting their basic needs.
Amnesty International Luxembourg stressed that such interference could only be justified by a law which has legitimate aims and which is necessary in a democratic society. The organisation noted it does not find that these conditions are met to take these measures and recommends that the Luxembourg government abandon the proposed regulation.
Amnesty International Luxembourg joined the demonstration organised by the Luxembourg association Solidaritéit mat den Heescherten (solidarity with beggars) to denounce the ban on begging and defend the state of law.
The Luxembourg association Solidaritéit mat den Heescherten in its protest speech, highlighted: “Neither the penal code, nor the Constitution, nor the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights prohibit simple begging, known as passive begging. […] Let us quote Georges Ravarani, Luxembourg judge of the European Court of Human Rights[…]: ‘Begging is an activity as old as the world. It can come from necessity, but also from personal choice. In my opinion, it is simply personal freedom. It could not be prohibited in general for the sole comfort of others who find it inappropriate. It is, therefore, essentially, a question of tolerance.’”
Solidaritéit mat den Heescherten thanked the partners who supported the action, including Amnesty International, FOKUS, LCGB, the Left (déi Lénk), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP), Médecins du Monde, OGBL Passerell, the Pirate Party (Piraten) and Stëmm vun der Strooss. The association added that five lawyers have offered their services to date, aiming to help beggars on a judicial level. “We want to help inform people about begging, the increase in inequalities and poverty and, of course, defend the rule of law,” the association stressed.
