On Tuesday the Netherlands was one of the first countries to take an exam at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. All UN member states are now to be critically examined on their human rights policy. Deputy Justice Minister Nebahat Albayrak and Human Rights Ambassador Arjan Hamburger went to Geneva for the Netherlands to answer questions on the report the Dutch government has drawn up on human rights in its own country.

Arjan Hamburger thought the exam went well:
"I think the Netherlands presents itself in a reasonable way, and also a vulnerable one. Not just bragging about all the things we do well, but also clearly recognizing where we still need to do our homework. Other countries appreciate this."

Nebahat Albayrak
In the Palais de Nations Ms Albayrak had to answer 50 to 60 questions presented by the countries that sit on the Human Rights Council. She said it was like
"answering questions in parliament, but then with the rest of the world".

Themes
The report by the Dutch government is supplemented by information from the United Nations and non-governmental organisations. Mr Hamburger said the questions to the deputy minister fell within a number of particular themes.
"It was mainly about integration and immigration and how the Netherlands deals with it. Also about discrimination, human trafficking, violence against women - and Wilders' documentary came up a few times. We also talked about the segregation in schools that exists to a certain extent. And there were also a few comments from the Vatican about euthanasia in the Netherlands."

One of the NGOs involved is the Dutch Section of the International Commission of Jurists. Spokeswoman Quirine Eijkman welcomes the fact that all members of the UN now have to explain their human rights policy.
"Countries like Myanmar and Chad will also take an exam with the Human Rights Council, as will Israel, the United States and China."

A "cleaner" image
In the Human Rights Commission, the forerunner of the Human Rights Council, countries with a questionable human rights record were able to steer clear of criticism. The former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan decided to reform this platform for human rights to give it a "cleaner" image. The new Human Rights Council has been in operation for two years. It meets much more frequently and individual member states are now assessed on the way they uphold human rights.

The presentation of Dutch human rights policy to the Human Rights Council will be followed up by a subsequent meeting to discuss the council's recommendations. In June the Netherlands will then have to explain how it plans to act on the recommendations. Only then will the country really be able to say it has passed its human rights exam.

NGOs are unhappy that they have less time available to speak in the Human Rights Council than they did in the Human Rights Commission. The Netherlands partly made up for this by taking part in a shadow conference held after the Human Rights Council sitting, in which criticism of the Netherlands' human rights policy was discussed further. Topics included the legal position of children in the asylum procedure, and the surveillance of terrorism suspects. This is seen as a human rights violation because it doesn't take place on the basis of a court decision but on the instructions of a mayor. There is also criticism of the Netherlands because it often delivers its reports much too late, and they don't cover the entire kingdom but only the Netherlands itself.

* RNW translation (mb)