The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has taken the exceptional step of calling on Germany to grant subsistence-level social benefits to an asylum seeker facing homelessness, even while proceedings before the Committee are still ongoing. This intervention, issued less than one month after an individual complaint was filed, underscores the gravity of the alleged violations and the urgent risk of irreparable harm.
A landmark UN individual complaint from Germany
In September 2025, the Society for Civil Rights (GFF) initiated the first-ever individual complaint against Germany under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The case concerns a young refugee whose social benefits were completely withdrawn under recent amendments to the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act, leaving him homeless and destitute.
Since July 2023, individuals in Germany have been able to bring individual complaints before the UN Committee when domestic remedies fail to provide timely protection of social rights. Until this case, this mechanism had never been used. The complaint therefore represents a critical test of international accountability mechanisms for economic and social rights within the EU.
Exclusion from benefits under the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act
Since the end of October 2024, a new provision in German law has enabled the complete exclusion of social benefits for so-called “Dublin refugees”—asylum seekers who first entered another EU Member State before travelling to Germany. Although Germany retains the legal possibility to transfer such individuals to the Member State responsible for their asylum claim, such transfers are rare and often not feasible in practice.
Instead, benefits are withdrawn after a short transition period in order to pressure individuals to leave “voluntarily”. In reality, the organisation of any return lies with the authorities and can take months. During this period, those affected are denied access to housing, food, healthcare, and other basic necessities. Homelessness is not recognised as a case of “extreme hardship” under the law, resulting in people being left without shelter solely because of their residence status.
Findings by national courts — but no systemic change
In April 2025, the Hamburg Social Court ruled in two expedited proceedings that the exclusion from benefits is unlawful where departure is not realistically possible in the near future. Numerous courts across Germany have since followed this reasoning and ordered the payment of full benefits in individual cases. However, the exclusion regime has not been lifted nationwide, and administrative practice continues to leave many people without support.
UN Committee orders provisional measures
On 29 September 2025, GFF filed the individual complaint on behalf of a young Syrian refugee who had entered the EU via Malta and later joined family members in Germany. After his benefits were withdrawn, he was forced to leave his accommodation, surrender his health insurance card, and survive through donations, often without food or a safe place to sleep.
In October 2025, while the complaint was still under examination, the UN Committee issued binding provisional measures, ordering Germany to provide the complainant with subsistence-level benefits, including food and accommodation, in order to prevent irreparable harm. This rapid intervention signals that the Committee considers the exclusion from benefits to pose a serious threat to social human rights.
Violations of international and European law
The individual complaint argues that Germany’s policy violates:
- the right to social security (Article 9 ICESCR),
- the right to an adequate standard of living, including housing (Article 11 ICESCR),
- the right to health (Article 12 ICESCR), and
- the principle of non-discrimination in the enjoyment of these rights (Article 2(2) ICESCR).
These obligations apply to everyone, regardless of migration status. The exclusion of benefits is also incompatible with EU law, notably the Reception Conditions Directive, which requires Member States to ensure an adequate standard of living for asylum seekers present on their territory.
A case with wider implications
Although local authorities have partially responded to the UN Committee’s order, support remains inadequate and incomplete. Legal proceedings are ongoing to ensure full compliance with the provisional measures.
This case places an international spotlight on Germany’s asylum and social policy and demonstrates the practical relevance of UN individual complaints in addressing homelessness and extreme poverty. It also sets an important precedent for the protection of housing and social rights across Europe, particularly where domestic systems fail to prevent destitution.
More information can be found here:
https://freiheitsrechte.org/existenzielle-not
https://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/cescr/individual-communications
