Can I seek asylum in Belgium whilst I have HCR refugee status from Kenya?

Question

I migrated to Kenya from Congo 15 years ago and I have HCR refugee status. I have been on the waiting list to be resettled in US since 2019. Whilst I was happy to wait, people who chased me from Congo have recently followed me, sexually assaulted me and later tortured me. I have no choice but to leave Kenya as soon as possible. I have EU visa and I am hoping to seek asylum in Belgium soon. My question is, can I just go to HCR in Belgium and ask them to find me a safe place as I am already a recognised refugee or do I need to start applying for asylum seeker from the scratch. Thank you for your advice.

Comments

Dear @OP, 

Welcome to the Wefugees Community and I am so sorry to hear what happened to you. 

Unfortunately, I am not familar with the Belgian asylum system and the procedures. Our platform and our experts are based in Germany - so we can share little experience on the procedures in other countries. I tried to make some research, but it is difficult to get to the kind of information you are looking for. I am afraid, though, that you may not be able to avoid the asylum procedure in Belgium (also UNHCR is not responisble for the recognition of refugees in Belgium/the authorities receive the applications and decide on the cases). I found this organisation in Belgium called "CIRÉ" - I recommend you to contact them for more profound information: https://***.cire.be/contact/ 

Be safe and all the best, 

Meike