The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights celebrated its 5th anniversary on October 1, 2017. Since 2012, the Netherlands has had an independent institute with the legal task of monitoring human rights, advising governments, conducting investigations, delivering opinions and promoting awareness of human rights in the country, ensuring that they are respected.

Much has been achieved over these past five years, but there is of course always more work to be done.

Results

The Institute has become more visible in recent years. It has shown that it is able to show the importance of human rights in the Netherlands in an accessible way. It is constantly looking for comprehensible ways to describe human rights issues. Since the establishment of the Institute, five annual reports on human rights have been published. These examine the state of human rights in the Netherlands. The first reports were wide in their focus, but for the most recent, one specific theme was chosen: poverty. In this report, the Institute shows how poverty and human rights are related.

Moreover, the front office has grown into the beating heart of the organisation. The front office receives all calls and emails. Many calls concern discrimination, but people also call about youth care, poverty and legal assistance. In five years, the Institute received almost 14.500 questions and reports. Because of the front office, the organisation knows what the most important societal issues are.

Opinions, investigations & recommendations

The Institute has delivered 750 opinions on discrimination cases. In approximately 75 per cent of these cases, the defendants took measures when it appeared discrimination had taken place, for example, by offering apologies or organising a training for their organisation to avoid discrimination in the future.

The Institute has also investigated 17 issues since it was founded, for instance on the enforcement of human rights in hospitals and the motivations for judges to order provisional detention. The Institute delivered 58 opinions to the cabinet and other government institutions. It also informed parliament in 64 letters about several important subjects and developments in the field of human rights. Multiple campaigns were also launched by the Institute to make people aware of their human rights and problems, such as pregnancy discrimination, the accessibility of public transport and elections for people with a disability.