The Netherlands is falling short of adequately addressing discrimination, concludes the final report of the State Commission against Discrimination and Racism.
The commission is calling for an overhaul of the government’s current approach.
This is not the first such warning. Following a series of reports and recommendations over the past four years on both offline and online discrimination, the commission reiterated that this harm is systemic and structural, NOS reports.
READ MORE | Dutch discrimination on the rise: 800,000 employees feel discriminated against in the workplace
It argues that discrimination is embedded within the legal system, government institutions, the labour market, healthcare, housing, and education.
The problem
Commission Chair Joyce Sylvester says that “legislation and policy are still too often developed from a limited perspective, in which people directly affected by discrimination are insufficiently involved, even though they are precisely the ones who can help combat discrimination.”
The commission calls for a government that not only eliminates discrimination within its own institutions but actively works to prevent it — a duty it argues is already enshrined in the Dutch Constitution.
10 steps forward
How can the government achieve this? The commission proposes an action agenda with ten concrete steps, including better monitoring of discrimination, limiting data-driven profiling, and strengthening oversight.
READ MORE | One in six Dutch people experience discrimination at work
A centrepiece is the proposed introduction of a statutory Public Sector Equality Obligation, modelled on similar laws in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
This would require government agencies to factor equal treatment into policy from the outset.
No comment
When asked to comment on the Commission’s new findings by NOS, the Ministry of Interior declined.
A spokesperson told NOS that the Ministry would first “carefully study the final report” before responding, adding that it is an issue “we take seriously.”
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