The Netherlands is at the forefront of a small group of countries which make human rights a set-piece for their global political performance, writes Giles Scott-Smith of the Holland Bureau.

The promotion of human rights. Its a cause that is associated with many countries, but only one or two make it a set-piece for their purpose and image in global politics. The Netherlands is at the forefront of this small group.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs places it as one of the “cornerstones” of Dutch foreign policy, on a par with key concerns such as security and development. 118m Euro has been allocated in the Ministry’s 2011 budget for ‘Strengthening international order and respect for human rights’ – up from 90m this year. The location of international legal institutions in The Hague adds to this aura of striving for a better world.
This position is so deeply ingrained that the Netherlands also takes on the role of presenting awards to those in other nations who work towards this goal. The annual Mensenrechtentulp prize is awarded by the Dutch government on 10 December, the international day for human rights.
The Dutch, plus americains que les americains as the Gaullists used to say, also draw on Franklin Roosevelt’s legacy to award the Four Freedoms prizes, again to those who have worked to secure a better existence for others. Meanwhile, in classic ‘new public diplomacy’ style, the emphasis has also been place on raising awareness within the Netherlands for human rights, particularly in education.
Teach them young, as they say, and it will stick. In 2011 this will be backed up by the opening of a Human Rights Institute to monitor and advise on domestic human rights issues, something that the UN has been requesting of its member states since 1993 but which has finally been agreed in the Netherlands – the place which up till now didn’t consider it necessary.
But times are changing. Speaking at the announcement of the Institute in April this year, international law professor Theo van Boven noted that “the Netherlands has recently been criticised for putting asylum seekers with children onto the street.” So the image is vulnerable. And this is a longer story than just the arrival of the PVV.
The Council of Europe has been critical of Dutch regulations for asylum-seekers for the last two years, something which was emphasised by Thomas Hammarberg’s report in March 2009. Hammarberg would not comment on whether the Netherlands was better or worse than others in Europe, but the attention was hardly positive.
Other NGOs have kept tabs on the state of Dutch detention centres for asylum seekers, and Amnesty International and the European Court of Human Rights have been active in focusing on the forcible return of such individuals to Iraq, Somalia, and other locations. And Amnesty’s full report on migrants and asylum seekers from 2008 doesn’t make uplifting reading either. The strict regime is treating anyone who enters this orbit as a criminal from the first moment.
Opinion is divided on this. Some have disputed that conditions are so bad in these centres. Others point to the fact that a perfect system does not exist. Meanwhile, surveys show 80% support for strict government policies towards illegal immigrants – and asylum seekers are regarded with suspicion as one element of this threat. So has Dutch opinion moved to the Right in the last decade.
Perhaps the activities of the Foreign Ministry to raise understanding within the country on human rights are now more important for the domestic political environment than they are for promoting the cause abroad.
Because according to the wonderful 2010 Country Brands Index, perceptions seem ok beyond the borders. The Netherlands has moved up from No. 31 to No. 25 in the global index. While the Med countries sink like their current account balance, Northern Europe is on the up – the Netherlands makes in into the top ten for both ‘doing business’ and ‘quality of life’. The image – so far – appears to be holding together.