IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 62 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Secretary 

of State should seek to amend Article 22 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice to move the seat of the Court from the 

Netherlands. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2013 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

the Secretary of State should seek to amend Article 

22 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice 

to move the seat of the Court from the Netherlands. 

Whereas according to the International Labor Organization, 

nearly 21,000,000 men, women, and children are 

enslaved in human trafficking worldwide at any given 

time, including 4,500,000 in sexual exploitation; 

Whereas the majority of trafficking victims are enslaved in 

countries with laws in statute prohibiting human trafficking; 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 62 IH 

Whereas the rule of law, or fair implementation of the law 

over all to whom the law applies, is essential to securing 

justice for victims of human trafficking; 

Whereas no government official should be above application 

of and adherence to the rule of law, including laws prohibiting human trafficking; 

Whereas government officials who benefit from or otherwise 

participate in human trafficking are obstacles to rescuing 

victims and prosecuting traffickers pursuant to the law; 

Whereas Joris Demmink, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice in the Netherlands from 2002 to 2012 

and the Director General for International Affairs and 

Immigration in the Netherlands from 1993 to 2002, has 

been accused by Mr. Osman of rape in Edirne, Turkey, 

in or about 1997 when Mr. Osman was 14 years old; 

Whereas Mr. Demmink, has been accused by Mr. Mustafa of 

rape in Istanbul, Turkey, in or about 1995, when Mr. 

Mustafa was 12 or 13 years old; 

Whereas Mr. Demmink has been accused by Mr. Yasin of 

rape in Bodrum, Turkey, in or about 1995, when Mr. 

Yasin was an adolescent; 

Whereas Necdet Menzir, Chief of the Istanbul Police Department in the 1990s and former Minister of Transport, affirms that Mr. Demmink visited Turkey numerous times 

between 1995 and 2000 using a variety of aliases on official and private visits to conduct research on his work responsibilities related to Turkey; 

Whereas Officer Mehmet Korkmaz, a Turkish police officer 

in Istanbul from 1995 to 1997, has stated that he was 

responsible for Mr. Demmink’s security on three of Mr. 

Demmink’s alleged visits, and that he brought Mustafa, 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 62 IH 

at that time a street child, as well as other children to 

Mr. Demmink for Mr. Demmink to sexually abuse; 

Whereas Turkish security officer Hu ̈seyin Celebi reported to 

Chief of the General Staff, the Chief of Police, the Attorney-General of the Supreme Council and the Ministry of 

Justice in Turkey in January 2007 that Mr. Demmink 

visited Turkey every year between 1995 and 2003, using 

aliases and attempting to hide his presence in Turkey; 

Whereas a participant at the March 1998 K4 Committee 

meeting in Ankara, Turkey, has come forward to affirm 

that Mr. Demmink was also present at the meeting in 

Turkey in 1998; 

Whereas a participant at the July 1996 INTERPOL meeting 

in Antalya, Turkey, has come forward to affirm that Mr. 

Demmink was also present at the meeting in Turkey in 

1996; 

Whereas Mr. Demmink has officially denied ever visiting Turkey in the 1990s; 

Whereas Mr. Demmink’s travel records from 1997 to 2000 

were allegedly destroyed, according to the Dutch Ministry 

of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Directorate-General for Immigration Affairs; 

Whereas in an October 3, 2012, letter from the Minister of 

Security and Justice, I.W. Opstelten, to the House of 

Representatives of the States General of the Netherlands, 

Opstelten indicates that the Netherlands has repeatedly 

decided against a formal investigation into the allegations 

against Mr. Demmink; 

Whereas without the authority of a formal investigation, the 

prosecutors lack powers for adequate research or travel 

to Turkey to interview victims and witnesses; 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 62 IH 

Whereas the Netherlands has not interviewed alleged victims 

Mr. Mustafa and Mr. Yasin; 

Whereas the Netherlands dismissed the statement of Mr. 

Osman without explanation or opportunity for the alleged 

victim to clarify his statement; 

Whereas the Netherlands has not interviewed any of the five 

additional government or former government witnesses; 

Whereas Mr. Mustafa and Mr. Osman have pursued every 

legal option available to secure justice in the Netherlands; 

Whereas Mr. Mustafa and Mr. Osman have reported threats 

against their lives and safety and that of their families 

in Turkey; 

Whereas Mr. Mustafa and Mr. Osman have gone into hiding 

in order to protect their safety while they seek redress 

through the justice systems of the Netherlands and Turkey; 

Whereas Mr. Osman was reportedly beaten and suffered broken facial bones after leaving an attorney’s office in Turkey in November 2012; 

Whereas journalist Burhan Kazmali, who researched and reported on the alleged victims’ story, was reportedly 

knocked unconscious on the street in Yalova, Turkey, in 

December 2012, after he refused to disclose Mr. 

Mustafa’s address; 

Whereas Mr. Demmink’s position as the Secretary General of 

the Ministry of Justice from 2002 to 2012, during the 

time the alleged victims have been pursuing an investigation and criminal charges in the Dutch courts creates a 

heightened duty for the Netherlands to thoroughly investigate the charges and avoid the appearance that Mr. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HRES 62 IH 

Demmink is above the rule of law or is otherwise obstructing justice by virtue of his position; 

Whereas the United States Department of State Trafficking 

in Persons Report for 2012 indicates that, although the 

law in the Netherlands prescribes maximum sentences 

ranging from 8 to 18 years imprisonment for individuals 

convicted of human trafficking, convicted traffickers on 

average receive a sentence of less than two years in jail, 

and typically serve little more than 1 year of the sentence 

in jail; 

Whereas the Dutch State Secretary of Justice, Fred Teeven, 

a lead prosecutor in a child sex trafficking investigation 

in 1998 which implicated high-ranking representatives of 

the Dutch government, stated under oath in a closed 

court hearing in the District Court of the Hague in the 

case of Paul H./OM (09/754023–06) that the 1998 child 

sex trafficking investigation was blocked and that it has 

never led to the prosecution of the suspects because of 

certain contra-actions; 

Whereas the international community in 1946 designated The 

Hague, Netherlands, as the seat of the International 

Court of Justice; 

Whereas the International Court of Justice is the principal 

judicial organ of the United Nations to promote the rule 

of law between nations; 

Whereas the inexplicable refusal of the Netherlands to formally investigate the serious allegations against the 

former Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice, Mr. 

Demmink, brings into question the rule of law in the 

Netherlands; and 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HRES 62 IH 

Whereas the credibility of the International Court of Justice 

is undermined by its current location in The Hague, 

Netherlands: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that the Secretary of State should take the 

3 appropriate steps in the United Nations to amend Article 

4 22 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice 

5 to move the seat of the court from the Netherlands to a 

6 more appropriate venue. 

Æ 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS