No One Left Behind: Inside Brussels’ Rainbow Refugee Committee

For LGBTQIA+ people forced to flee their homes, Belgium can be a place of safety—but the journey to protection is often lonely, violent and bureaucratic. The Rainbow Refugee Committee (RRC), based at RainbowHouse Brussels, exists to make sure queer and trans refugees are not facing that path alone.​

What is the Rainbow Refugee Committee?

The Rainbow Refugee Committee is a participatory and collaborative group created by, for and with LGBTQIA+ people who have experienced forced migration and are now in Belgium. Its board and active members are themselves asylum seekers and refugees, which means lived experience is at the heart of every action, demand and support space they build.​

• The RRC focuses on people in International Protection Request (IPR/DPI) procedures as well as recognized refugees from the LGBTQIA+ community.​
• It works from RainbowHouse Brussels, the city’s queer community center that hosts many LGBTQIA+ associations and offers legal, social and psychological orientation.

Aims: From Survival to Full Citizenship

The RRC’s mission goes far beyond emergency help; it is about power, voice and long‑term belonging.​

• It aims to ondersteuning, inspire, coordinate and unify the strategic thinking and actions of LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers and refugees living in Belgium, so they can organize collectively rather than suffer in isolation.​
• The committee works to promote socio‑economic integration, acting as a bridge between queer refugees and authorities at municipal, regional, community, federal, European and international levels.​

The committee also positions itself as a consultative voice in policy-making.

• It advises public authorities and civil-society actors on how to design and implement inclusive integration policies for LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers and refugees.​
• It supports people throughout their refugee status recognition procedure and accompanies recognized refugees on their path towards Belgian citizenship.​

What the Committee Actually Does

On the ground, the Rainbow Refugee Committee offers a mix of collective and one‑to‑one spaces, designed to respond to urgent needs and build community over time.​

• Workshops and peer discussion groups: safe spaces to share experiences, exchange practical information and break isolation.​
• Asylum procedure support: guidance on preparing for interviews, understanding documents and navigating the Belgian protection system.​

The committee also invests in futures, not only in paperwork.

• Job‑coaching workshops and individual coaching sessions to help people access training, employment and economic independence.​
• Individual one‑to‑one meetings for tailored support, including orientation to legal, social, psychological and medical services via RainbowHouse and partner organizations.​

The RRC does not stop at Belgium’s borders.

• It supports community protection actions for LGBTQIA+ people in members’ countries of origin, highlighting ongoing risks and mobilizing transnational solidarity.​
• It organizes conferences, public events, bar permanencies at RainbowHouse and encounters with the wider public to make queer refugee realities visible at the heart of Brussels.​

Why This Matters for the LGBTQIA+ Community

For many LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers, mainstream reception systems are not equipped to deal with homophobic and transphobic violence in centers, hostile interpreters or disbelief around sexual orientation and gender identity. A community‑led structure like the RRC can literally be the difference between silence and being heard.​

• As the only body in Belgium specifically representing LGBTQIA+ people affected by asylum, the RRC brings a unique and urgently needed voice into political and institutional spaces.​
• Because its leadership has gone through the same procedures, it can anticipate dangers, share concrete survival tools and advocate for structural change with credibility.​

The RRC is also part of a broader ecosystem around RainbowHouse.

• RainbowHouse Brussels gathers multiple LGBTQIA+ associations and offers a bar, info point and reporting space for LGBTQIA+‑phobic violence in the city.​
• The Asylum & Migration, Inclusive Organisations and International sections of RainbowHouse showcase projects and partners working on queer migration, anti‑racism and global solidarity.​

Practical Info and Useful Links

If you are an LGBTQIA+ asylum seeker, refugee, or an ally wanting to support, you can connect directly with the Rainbow Refugee Committee and related resources.​

• Rainbow Refugee Committee (Brussels)
  • Website (EN): https://rainbowhouse.be/en/association/rainbow-refugee-committee-2/​
  • E‑mail: rrcbelgium@gmail.com (also listed as info@rainbowrefugee.be in some communications)​
  • WhatsApp / Tel (support line): +32 (0)491 76 99 26​
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RainbowRefugeeCommittee​
  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rainbowrefugeecommittee/​
• RainbowHouse Brussels thematic pages
  • Asylum & Migration: https://rainbowhouse.be/fr/thematique/asile-et-migration/​
  • Inclusive Organisations: https://rainbowhouse.be/fr/thematique/organisations-inclusives/​
  • International: https://rainbowhouse.be/fr/thematique/international/​
• Other key resources in Belgium
  • Lumi overview of organizations supporting LGBTI+ asylum seekers (FR/NL/EN): https://www.lumi.be/asiel-en-migratie/english/asylum/which-organizations-support-lgbti-asylum-seekers-belgium​
  • Belgian Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) contact information: https://www.cgrs.be/en/contact-info​

For queer and trans people navigating asylum in Belgium, the Rainbow Refugee Committee is not just another service provider; it is a community of peers fighting so that every LGBTQIA+ refugee can move from mere survival to full, dignified citizenship.​