Mensenrechtensituatie in Nederland
Mr President,
Distinguished representatives of the Member States and the Observer States of the Human Rights Council,
Ladies and gentlemen,
What a pleasure it is for me to address the Working Group of the Human Rights Council on the occasion of the first universal Periodic Review of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In this globalising world, we can only value the respect for human rights if we do closely cooperate.
Fundamental rights
Mr President,
The Kingdom of the Netherlands traditionally attaches great importance to promoting, protecting and upholding human rights, both at home and abroad. There is currently a lively discussion about fundamental rights in the Netherlands.
Human Rights apply to everyone, everywhere and at all times. Respect for human rights is an important aspect of a democratic constitutional state. And the human rights system is an important component of the international legal order and a concern of all states as is stated in the Vienna Declaration of 1993. Human rights have a strong basis in our legislation, policy and enforcement.
As a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba also subscribe to many UN human rights treaties. And to underline the importance of it, representatives of The Netherlands Antilles are here with me today as part of my delegation.
The Netherlands believes in the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights. Civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights reinforce each other.
Dutch society is characterised by pluralism. There is a wide range of ideologies, beliefs, lifestyles and value patterns. It is freedom that makes this pluralism possible. The Dutch Constitution and human rights conventions have anchored these freedoms and are therefore a source of shared basic values. It is important to establish that the Constitution does not have any order of precedence for the fundamental rights. Case law offers good insight into specific situations in which one fundamental right weighs more heavily than another.
Now let me focus on a few specific issues in our report.
Terrorism
First of all, the prevention of terrorism. Respect and attention for human rights and the rule of law are our starting points. We combat radicalisation that precedes terrorist activities. One of the factors that contributes to this is the lack of political freedom and room for political and social participation. The promotion of good governance and the rule of law can contribute to the prevention of radicalisation. Preventing radicalisation requires respect for different cultures and roots. Respect for basic human rights and cultural and religious diversity are key. To counter radicalisation it is also of key importance to promote the rule of law, which is conducive to the de-legitimisation of the use of violence by groups of citizens. This includes countering the instigation of violence via the internet, other media, in education and religious institutions.
We are building an effective mechanism to counter terrorism in the earliest possible stages. This may mean that certain persons and organisations will have to be observed more closely. The measures for combating terrorism are defined by law and enforced under legal supervision.
Human rights apply to everyone, as I said. This means that the Dutch government has no desire at all to undermine the absolute nature of the prohibition of torture in expulsion cases of terrorist suspects. No one liable to Dutch jurisdiction will ever be knowingly and wilfully subjected to treatment contrary to the provisions dealing with the right to life and the prohibition of torture. This is equally true for terrorist suspects and persons who fall within the scope of Article 1F of the Geneva Convention of 1951.
Human trafficking and prostitution
Another policy field in which human rights have a prominent role is human trafficking and prostitution. We combats trafficking and all related criminal activities fervently. The Netherlands is also the first country to have established an independent National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking in the year 2000.
We have imposed a period of reflection of 3 months, during which victims of trafficking can carefully consider whether or not they wish to cooperate with the police. Victims that decide to do so will receive a temporary residence permit. Victims that do not cooperate can request a residence permit on special and individual grounds.
Human rights also have an important role in our policy on prostitution. The Netherlands lifted the ban on brothels in 2000. This has given the responsible authorities more and better possibilities to improve the position of sex workers, for example in the areas of safety, health and working conditions.
Discrimination
Let me now turn to the prevention and combating of discrimination. Discrimination, on whichever grounds, cannot be permitted. Consequently, prevention and combating discrimination require a substantial effort by the government. We have laws that prohibit discrimination and punish those who break these laws. We support the victims of discrimination and we have developed a new national infrastructure of antidiscrimination bureaus to assist the victims. The Dutch government is aware of the changes in Dutch society since 2001 and has taken a wide range of measures to counter social division and the hardening of social attitudes. A policy plan is currently being developed that aims to combat racial discrimination on the labour market, in law enforcement, criminal investigation and on the internet.
We strongly believes that real interaction between people of different backgrounds will help to combat discrimination and Islamophobia in our country. Respecting the freedom of Muslims to practise their religion is a key theme of integration policies and is in line with a longstanding tradition of freedom of religion in the Netherlands.
Women’s rights and emancipation
Mr President,
The improvement of women’s rights and emancipation remains important. The main issues in our policy are: labour participation, the position of women and girls from minority groups, safety and international emancipation policy. We have a minister for Emancipation who is tasked with the coordination of our emancipation policy. All involved departments have their own responsibilities related to this issue.
Prevention of child abuse
The more vulnerable the person, the greater the need for him to be aware of his rights. If this applies to any group, it does to children. The importance of children’s rights to this government is expressed, among other things, by the fact that we have appointed a Minister for Youth and Family. In part as a result of the United Nations study on violence against children, we developed the Action Plan on Child Abuse Children Safe at Home, which has the objective of reducing the number of cases of child abuse. Actions are aimed at prevention, discovery, stopping and damage control.
It may be clear that the Netherlands feels strongly about the protection of human rights. However, we are also aware of our shortcomings, that put pressure on the upholding of human rights, even in The Netherlands. We have been very clear about this in our report. We know that we have to be on our guard. Consequently, we do not expect only to receive compliments today, but are open to criticism and suggestions.
I am looking forward to your questions.
Thank you, Mr President