A/HRC/8/52
page 182
currently the subject of debate in the Netherlands. It noted that the approximately 50 questions
and 31 recommendations received would help it find answers to the challenges that the country
was facing and to develop new thoughts and ideas for the future.
546. The Netherlands submitted its responses to the 31 recommendations to OHCHR
(A/HRC/8/31/Add.1). In that document, the Netherlands tried to be as open and transparent as it
had been during the review and earlier in its national report by substantiating why certain
recommendations could or could not be supported. Many of the recommendations concerned
integration, discrimination and migration issues, which were the subject of current public debate
in the Netherlands. The Netherlands stated that it supported most of the recommendations and
that they were generally in line with the Government’s policies, as explained in its national
report.
547. The Netherlands further noted that two of the questions that it received in April still needed
to be answered. The first one was from Slovenia, which expressed its concern at the lack of
sufficient mental health services for adolescents, the prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse,
teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Slovenia also requested more
information on programmes and measures to prevent or reduce drug and alcohol abuse.
548. The Netherlands assured that it offered a variety of education and prevention programmes
designed for young people. Young people with alcohol and/or drug problems could turn
to outpatient or inpatient clinics for help. The number of teenage births was relatively low and
not rising and the number of sexually transmitted diseases had stabilized over the past two years.
It also informed the Council that, with regard to mental health care, more resources had become
available so that young people with severe behavioural problems could now have access to care
more rapidly.
549. The second question came from Switzerland, which asked about the action plan on human
rights education. The Netherlands pointed out that the action plan was currently being discussed
within the framework of the human rights education platform, which was looking for ways to
help schools to incorporate human rights into existing study programmes. Furthermore, it stated
that a major challenge was posed by the limitation mentioned in its national report, namely that
schools could not be ordered to include specific subjects in their curriculum. The Netherlands
stated that it would inform the Council on progress in due course.
550. Moreover, the Netherlands took the opportunity to make some remarks about the universal
periodic review process to date. Although a lot of work still had yet to be done, the Netherlands
highlighted some trends developing in the first two sessions of the review that it considered to be
promising for the future.
551. Firstly, it noted that the major human rights issues in every State under review had been
raised in a constructive manner, showing that the intention of the General Assembly that the
universal periodic review should be a cooperative mechanism based on interactive dialogue
could actually work. Secondly, the Netherlands was pleased to see so many member States
actively participating in the process. Thirdly, it experienced an increasing openness and
transparency as the sessions evolve. For the moment, the Netherlands considered the review a
“work in progress” that would ultimately contribute to the improvement of the human rights
situation in all countries.
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