Since a few days, the Netherlands has a brand new College voor de Rechten van de Mens (National Institute for Human Rights). Why did we establish it? The Netherlands believes itself to be a country heavily committed to human rights, both nationally and internationally. When it “campaigned” for a seat in the UN Human Rights Council after the Council’s establishment in 2006, the Netherlands already pledged to establish a national human rights institute. It took some time, but now we have kept our word.
But keeping our promise is not the reason why the Institute was established, of course. The core mission of the Institute is to promote compliance with human rights within the territory of the Netherlands. The Institute will do so through a combination of advice, research and information. It will often remind the government of its responsibilities, because it is the government which is primarily responsible for the realization of human rights for all in the Netherlands. The Institute does not deal with individual human rights complaints. However, it does act as watchdog of the Dutch equal treatment legislation; in individual cases brought before it, it will decide whether someone has been discriminated against at work, at school as a consumer. It thus effectively takes over this task from the Dutch Equal Treatment Commission.
On 2 October 2012, Navanethem Pillay, herself the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, gave a speech on the occasion of the opening of the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights. According to Pillay, the new Institute should become “active in protecting marginalized individuals and groups by ensuring that principles of nondiscrimination and equality are incorporated into legislation, policies and practice.” Pillay also reminded everyone of the most persistent human rights problems in the Netherlands:
“Policies and programmes to combat all of forms of discrimination, racism and xenophobia, including those based on religion; efforts to advance the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers in the country, including in the area of justice and detention; and measures to eliminate violence against women and domestic violence.”
She was referring here to the debate between freedom of expression and respect for religious practices; the treatment of aliens in alien detention centres (much criticized by Amnesty International).