| Click here for a summary of the Netherlands’s review at the first cycle and/or the second cycle. |
27th UPR session
Date of review: 10 May 2017
Date of report adoption: 22 Sep 2017
Document number: A/HRC/36/15
|
SUMMARY SOGIESC issues during Netherlands’ 3rd UPR review |
I. SOGIESC issues/recommendations identified by NGOs and other stakeholders
Information provided by the national human rights institution accredited in full compliance with the Paris Principles
6. Regarding recommendation no. 98.448 on discrimination in the labour market, NIHR noted that discrimination in labour market had been a serious and structural problem. 9 NIHR referred to reports that highlighted the problem of discrimination against migrants from non-Western countries to access to the labour market as stereotypes and prejudices had a negative impact in their recruitment.10 Women had experienced discrimination in employment owing to pregnancy and motherhood. Women got paid less than men for the work of equal value.11 Discrimination of minority women due to the wearing headscarf was still common in employment. Transgender persons had faced reportedly challenges of accessing the labour market.
Equality and non-discrimination
22. Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) stated that discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression persisted within public and private spheres.
36. JS2 noted existing discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons as well as hate crimes, including violence committed against LGBTI persons and a low level of prosecution against the perpetrators. A draft law had been introduced in the parliament with the aim of abolishing three articles in the penal Code (137 c-e) that protected against discrimination based on amongst other things sexual orientation. If the law were to be adopted, inciting hatred and insulting people on the grounds of their sexual orientation would no longer be punishable. JS2 recommended upholding existing anti-discrimination paragraphs of the Penal Code.
37. Regarding recommendation no. 98.4465 to combat discrimination in the labour market, in particular targeting transgender people, JS2 reported on a lack of adequate legal protection against discrimination against transgender and intersex people in the labour market. It recommended amending Equal Treatment Act to include explicit prohibition of discrimination on trans and intersex people.
38. JS2 stated that transgender persons under the age of 16 had no access to legal gender recognition. Intersex persons needed a judicial approval and transgender people aged 16 and older needed a letter from a doctor or psychologist to get access to legal gender recognition.
39. JS2 stated that the waiting list for access to medical gender affirmative health care had been long. Not all treatments necessary to complete the transition to male or female were covered or were only partially covered by the basic health insurance. It recommended inter alia guaranteeing equal access to basic gender affirmative health care through primary health care providers and reimbursement of all aspects of gender affirmative health care.
Right to education
58. JS4 stated that the Government should strengthen sexuality education in primary, secondary and high schools by ensuring comprehensive sexuality education that includes topics such as sexual diversity, sexual rights and gender equality.
II. Excerpts on SOGIESC issues from the national report
Human rights at the local level
20. Many municipalities work on the promotion and protection of human rights. Some notable examples of human rights actions at the local level are:
• The 44 so-called “Rainbow Cities”, which have signed the Rainbow Cities Covenant, in which they declare to improve the social acceptance, safety and emancipation of LGBTIs;
Equality and non-discrimination
24. Article I.1 of the Aruban Constitution prohibits discrimination based on religion, race, sex, colour, national or social origin, property, birth, or on any other ground not explicitly mentioned in this provision. It also enshrines the principle of equality. This article provides a guide for the Aruban legislature and government. Under the Constitution the courts have the power of review. A citizen who claims that a given law is contrary to the first article of the Constitution may request the court to review the constitutionality of the law. If the law is deemed to be contrary to the Constitution the judge will declare it non applicable in the individual case before the court.
25. Chapter two of Curaçao’s Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion, national or social origin, political affiliation, race, gender, and based on any other grounds, and ensures equality of all under the law.
National Action Programme to combat discrimination
26. The Dutch Government presented a new National Action Programme to combat discrimination in all its forms on 22 January 2016. This programme provides a boost and brings coherence to the government’s policies in this area, and articulates the government’s vision of how to combat discrimination and xenophobia in the coming years. The programme includes both the general antidiscrimination approach, and measures focused specifically on various target groups, among which people who are discriminated against on the grounds of descent, skin colour, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age and handicap or chronic illness. The parliament will be informed annually on the progress made in this respect.
LGBTI Combating transgender discrimination and stimulating their employment
38. The Netherlands supports the national expertise and lobbying group Transgender Network Netherlands (TNN), in areas such as building up networks for transgender individuals, increasing sensitivity among employers, and sharing best practices to promote the participation of transgender people. It also supports a project to help transgender people to (re-) enter the labour market, through coaching, job application training, and in some cases supervision in the workplace. To improve the rights of transgender people within Europe, the Netherlands supports the work of Transgender Europe. Intersex people
39. The Netherlands supports the advancement of the rights of intersex people both nationally and internationally. Themes discussed nationally include promoting and protecting health, medical ethics policy, research on the specific problems of intersex children, and the promotion of expertise among medical professionals. To further these goals, an expert meeting was held with all the relevant parties and experts in November 2016 to chart the issues that may be at stake, to identify the specific problems experienced by intersex people, and to define what the role of the Dutch government and of other stakeholders could be in tackling these problems. In the first half of 2017, a follow-up meeting will be organised to discuss the results of some of the thematic working groups. In addition, a preliminary investigation was conducted in 2016 on the question of whether the prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of gender identity and gender expression could be made explicit in the Equal Treatment Act, including references to physical sexual characteristics. On 16 January 2017, a draft bill was submitted by parliament to clarify discrimination on the grounds of gender in the Equal Treatment Act, so it would thereafter include physical sexual characteristics, gender identity and gender expression. Furthermore, the possibility is being explored of devising a specific ‘product’ for use in information sessions at schools on intersex or sexual variations. Finally, on 26 October 2016 (Intersex Awareness Day), the guide “10 Q&As about intersex” for local professionals was published, with financial support from the government.
Safety of LGBTIs
40. LGBTIs are more likely to feel unsafe in their local neighbourhood than heterosexuals. A large proportion of incidents of bullying and/or violence are not reported to the police, and those that are reported are not always dealt with properly. Combating discrimination and hate crimes against LGBTIs is rarely incorporated into the safety policies drawn up by municipal councils. However, the police have taken up the subject, for instance through the ‘Pink in Blue’ organisation, which is an LGBTI network within the police. The antidiscrimination bureaus also take an active role in improving the efforts to stamp out violence and discrimination targeting LGBTIs, from identifying and reporting to taking effective action, aftercare, and prevention.
41. Since 2011, NGOs, knowledge institutes, and others including the police have been cooperating in a national gay-straight alliance called Natuurlijk Samen. 31 This has heightened awareness of the problem, but the approach still tends to be ad hoc: action is only taken in response to specific incidents. Over the next years, greater effort will be made to build up partnerships with municipal organisations and those involved in safety issues. In addition, LGBTI discrimination will be linked more strongly to discrimination on other grounds, such as ethnicity, which is also a key factor in numerous incidents in local neighbourhoods and asks for a similar, more effective, approach. Same-sex unions in Aruba
42. With the parliamentary adoption of an amendment to the Civil Code concerning the law of persons and family in September 2016, registered partnerships have been made possible for civil unions between both same-sex and heterosexual couples.
Self-determination programme
71. One element of the Netherlands’ integration policy is the self-determination programme. Self-determination is about the ability and freedom to make one’s own choices about matters such as education, training, recreational activities, choice of life partner, living alone, getting a divorce, and religion, without any pressure or coercion. The Netherlands is a democracy governed by the rule of law, in which everyone has the same rights and obligations, and self-determination is generally taken for granted. In some communities, however, honour and group pressure play a role. Violations of someone’s right to self-determination occur primarily in relationships of dependency and inequality between a man and a woman. Examples include forced marriage, marital captivity, child marriage, abandonment, honour-related violence, a life of enforced isolation, and the non acceptance of homosexuality.
Hate speech
104. The freedom of expression applies to every citizen, including politicians. It is, however, limited by articles 137c and 137d of the Penal Code, which prohibit intentional insult of, or incitement to hate, discrimination or violence against a group of persons because of their race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation or handicap. In 2014, the Public Prosecution Office prosecuted 134 cases on the basis of these provisions. In 2017, a covenant will be concluded between the Public Prosecution Office, the police and antidiscrimination organisations to promote cooperation in this area.
105. With regard to online hate speech, there is a national reporting point for criminal, discriminatory statements on the Internet (MiND). In 2017, a public awareness campaign against hate speech on the Internet will be launched. In cooperation with Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, organisations in the Netherlands are identified to which these companies can offer support to formulate counter speech against discriminatory statements on social media.
III. Excerpts on SOGIESC issues by UN agencies
Equality and non-discrimination
18. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was concerned that discriminatory stereotypes and hate speech were targeted at Muslim women, migrant women and asylum-seeking women. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was concerned that women and girls from minority groups were subjected to intersectional discrimination on the basis of both ethnic origin and gender, that they were especially vulnerable to poverty and that they had particular difficulties in accessing employment, education and health care. The Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent stated that women of African descent in the Netherlands suffered compounded discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin, skin colour, socioeconomic status, gender, religion and other status.
20. The Committee on the Rights of the Child was concerned that refugee children, asylum-seeking children, undocumented children, children belonging to ethnic minorities, children with disabilities, chronically ill children and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children continued to face discrimination.
Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
73. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was concerned about domestic violence not being recognized as a ground for asylum and about reports of cases of refoulement of asylum seekers fearing persecution because of their sexual orientation.
IV. References to SOGIESC issues during the Working Group review
15. The representative of Aruba spoke of several measures that had been taken to reform legislation in line with international human rights standards. The 2012 Penal Code had strengthened protection against discrimination in Aruba. The 2016 amendments to the Civil Code had provided legal recognition of civil unions between same-sex persons. Legal amendments had prohibited corporal punishment within the family. Sentences for offences related to human trafficking had been increased. A new project had started in 2017 to provide residence permits to undocumented youths. The government of Aruba recognized that the protection of human rights required continuous progress.
19. In addition, sessions had been organized to raise awareness of and assess government compliance with international human rights treaties. Domestic violence, discrimination based on gender, race, gender identity and sexual orientation and the establishment of a national human rights institution were some of the issues that had been discussed during those sessions and the decision to establish a human rights institution for Curaçao had been one of the outcomes.
38. Australia noted that the national human rights institution was in line with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles), the national human rights action plan and the efforts of the Netherlands to increase women’s participation in the labour market and advance the rights of intersex persons.
46. Brazil commended the Netherlands for its efforts to promote freedom of expression, decrease the gender pay gap and combat discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. It expressed concern about ethnic profiling and the detention of migrants and asylum seekers.
81. Ireland urged the Netherlands to make further efforts to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons from violence and discrimination, including by increasing protection from and the appropriate prosecution for hate crimes.
82. Israel noted the adoption of a national human rights action plan, the Rainbow Cities initiative and policies to fight human trafficking, and the establishment of centres for victims of sexual violence.
116. Sweden noted the deportation of asylum seekers, discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons and of foreign women in the labour market, the gender pay gap, discrimination in employment owing to pregnancy and motherhood, and the low number of prosecutions for hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons.
128. The delegation informed the Human Rights Council that the Government had taken measures to ensure that sexuality education was taught in secondary school. The law prohibited discrimination against transgender and intersex persons.
V. Conclusions and/or recommendations
Netherlands accepted the following recommendations:
131.40 Fully implement the equal opportunities policy with the aim of ensuring gender equality (Botswana);
131.98 Continue its efforts to eliminate all forms of discrimination, notably against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons and against women in the labour market (France);
131.136 Ensure comprehensive sexuality education is integrated into the national school curriculum, including on topics such as sexual diversity, sexual rights and gender equality (Belgium);
131.138 Integrate human rights education into the national school curriculum, provide sufficient resources for human rights education and training of teachers and ensure that they receive training in topics such as sexual diversity, sexual rights, resilience, gender equality and consent (Slovenia);
Netherlands noted the following recommendations:
131.48 Take effective measures to put an end to discrimination on grounds of racial or ethnic origin, skin colour, socioeconomic status, gender, religion or other status in the fields of employment and education (Albania);
131.99 Implement measures to protect intersex persons from discrimination (Australia);
131.100 Guarantee access to legal gender recognition for both intersex and transgender people of all ages, without legal, administrative or financial barriers (Israel);
131.116 Ensure the training of prosecutors and security forces so they can identify, investigate and prosecute cases of gender-based violence (Israel);
131.147. Increase efforts aimed at combating intersectional discrimination against women and girls based on their belonging to ethnic minority groups or on gender (Paraguay);
VI. Further information
You will find all documents relating to Netherlands’ third review at UPR-Info and OHCHR’s websites.