Mr. President,
Norway welcomes the steps taken by the Netherlands since its last UPR, including making full use of the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights to promote, protect and monitor the national human rights situation.
In line with the 2013 report from the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), as well as the 2016 stocktaking by ECRI, Norway recommends that the Netherlands consider making racist motivation a specific aggravating circumstance in sentencing.
Advance questions
1. Referring to the concerns expressed by the Council of Europe Commissioner of Human Rights (letter dated 2 November 2016) regarding three recent legislative amendments to combat terrorism, could the Netherlands elaborate on how they undertake to ensure the ECHR standards of fair trial and access to an effective remedy, and how civil society have been involved in the legislative process.
2. In the report from the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) from 2013, ECRI recommended that the Netherlands introduce a provision to the effect that racist motivation constitutes a specific aggravating circumstance in sentencing, a recommendation the Netherlands have rejected. Could you elaborate on why you do not see this as a suitable measure for preventing racism?