Human rights are often pushed into second place when Dutch politicians are wrestling with difficult questions, the national human rights commission said in its annual report, published on Tuesday.

‘Too often the cabinet only makes serious efforts when it has been reprimanded by others about unacceptable situations,’ the commission says.

‘Think about safety in the earthquake areas of Groningen, about the care of people without residency papers and about the mass storage of telecoms information,’ the commission said, referring to three policy areas in which ministers have been told to rethink.

‘Human rights are the minimum standard which a country should adhere to,’ said chairman Laurien Koster. ‘Of course things are well organised in the Netherlands but it can and should be better. ‘

The recent debate surrounding accommodation for failed asylum seekers highlights the issue, the commission said. Although the agreement which was finally struck between the coalition partners took the heat out of the debate, it did not solve the problem itself, the commission points out.

The commission’s report includes 40 recommendations for improvement.