COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN CONSIDERS REPORT OF NETHERLANDS, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES AND NETHERLANDS ARUBA

The Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women has considered the fifth periodic report of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and the Netherlands Aruba on how they are implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Introducing the report of the Netherlands, Sharon Dijksma, Minister for Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands, said since the last report significant progress had been made regarding the elimination of discrimination against women. The Government had invested heavily in measures aimed at creating opportunities for combining paid work with caring for children and large investments had been made in childcare, among others. Nevertheless, there was still a long way to go in several regards, including in the field of labour participation of women and safety of women.

Introducing the report of the Netherlands Antilles, Omayra Leeflang, Minister of Public Health and Social Development/Minister of Education of the Netherlands Antilles, said that the Government was duly aware of its obligations under the Convention and had sought to implement, to the best of its abilities, its provisions. Despite significant difficulties, progress had been made on a number of issues, including Parliament’s acceptance of a law protecting children against pornography, prostitution and sexual abuse; the appointment of a public prosecutor on domestic violence; and the development of new legislation dealing specifically with human trafficking.

Michelle Hooyboer-Winklaar, Minister of Economic Affairs, Social Affairs and Culture of the Netherlands Aruba, introducing the report of the Netherlands Aruba, said that although progress in some fields had not been what the Government had hoped for, achievements had been made, including the past elections during which women had played an important role. Nevertheless, much still needed to be done, particularly regarding the empowerment of specific groups that required particular attention, and the Government therefore intended to work on a more integrated and coordinated approach.

Questions and issues raised by Experts during the interactive discussion included, on the Netherlands specifically, whether all provisions of the Convention were reflected in internal legislation; whether a gender impact assessment had been conducted before the new Prostitution Bill had been submitted to Parliament; whether multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary teams were in place to assist work with victims of human trafficking; what policies were in place to combat gender stereotypes; and whether the budgets allocated to the Netherlands Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles for the implementation of the Convention were identical to that in the Netherlands. The Dutch delegation was also asked to comment on the reportedly weak coordination at central level of the Government; on allegations that non-governmental organizations received insufficient funding; and to provide more information regarding the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

On the Netherlands Aruba, Committee Members wished to know whether more information was available on the domestic violence offender’s programme; on women prostitutes working outside employment regulations; and whether the witness protection law was applied in cases where victims were unwilling to cooperate with local authorities.

With respect to the Netherlands Antilles, Experts wished to know, among others, what the impact had been of the training that had been provided to police officers and other agents, and whether that was an ongoing activity and whether there was any policy to secure the concerned women’s rights and safety in an integrated manner for the different islands. It was also regrettable that the report contained very limited information regarding violence against women.

In concluding remarks, Ms. Dijksma, Minister for Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands, said in lieu of oral concluding remarks the delegation wished to show a short film to the Committee.

Also in some concluding observations, Naela Gabr, Committee Chairperson, said she thanked the State party for its high-level delegations. The Committee hoped that the Netherlands continued in the same path. Much was expected from the Netherlands as it was very engaged in advocating not only human rights but also the rights of women more specifically. Further, the fact that 10 per cent of the people under the Dutch jurisdiction were migrants placed an obligation on the Government to undertake all necessary measures to pay particular attention to their rights. Moreover, while women were significantly represented in public administration and related senior positions, it was nevertheless hoped that this positive trend would continue.

The delegation of the Netherlands also included representatives of the Ministr