CRC/C/NLD/CO/5-6

United Nations

Convention on the
Rights of the Child

Distr.: General
9 March 2022
Original: English

Committee on the Rights of the Child

Concluding observations on the combined fifth and sixth
periodic reports of the Kingdom of the Netherlands*, **
I. Introduction
1.
The Committee considered the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands1 at its 2566th and 2568th meetings,2 held on 1 and 2 February
2022, and adopted the present concluding observations at its 2582nd meeting, held on 11
February 2022.
2.
The Committee welcomes the submission of the combined fifth and sixth periodic
reports of the State party, under the simplified reporting procedure, which allowed for a better
understanding of the situation of children’s rights in the State party. The Committee expresses
appreciation for the constructive dialogue held virtually with the high-level and multisectoral
delegation of the State party.3

II. Follow-up measures taken and progress achieved by the State
party
3.
The Committee welcomes the various legislative, institutional and policy measures
taken by the State party to implement the Convention, including the addition of sexual
orientation and disability to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination under article 1 of
the Constitution, the adoption of the Child Labour (Duty of Care) Act and the prohibition of
corporal punishment in the home in Aruba, Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius. The Committee
notes with appreciation the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities.

III. Main areas of concern and recommendations
4.
The Committee reminds the State party of the indivisibility and interdependence of
all the rights enshrined in the Convention and emphasizes the importance of all the
recommendations contained in the present concluding observations. The Committee would
like to draw the State party’s attention to the recommendations concerning the following
areas, in respect of which urgent measures must be taken: non-discrimination (para. 15),
* The term “the Kingdom of the Netherlands” is used in the present document to refer to the four parts
that constitute the Kingdom of the Netherlands: the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

** Adopted by the Committee at its eighty-ninth session (31 January–11 February 2022).
1

CRC/C/NLD/5-6.
See CRC/C/SR.2566 and CRC/C/SR.2568.
3 Unless otherwise stated, the recommendations in each part of the present concluding observations are
addressed to the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and to the governments of the
constituent countries and the municipalities of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius.
2

GE.22-03480(E)

CRC/C/NLD/CO/5-6

violence against children (para. 22), children with disabilities (para. 27), the impact of climate
change on the rights of the child (para. 32), asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children
(para. 37) and administration of child justice (para. 41).
5.
The Committee recommends that the State party ensure the realization of
children’s rights in accordance with the Convention, the Optional Protocol on the
involvement of children in armed conflict and the Optional Protocol on the sale of
children, child prostitution and child pornography, throughout the process of
implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It urges the State party
to ensure the meaningful participation of children in the design and implementation of
policies and programmes aimed at achieving all 17 Sustainable Development Goals as
far as they concern children.

A.

General measures of implementation (arts. 4, 42 and 44 (6))
Reservations and declarations
6.
The Committee reiterates its previous recommendations of 1999, 2004, 2009 and
20154 and urges the State party to consider withdrawing its reservations to articles 26,
37 (c) and 40 and its interpretative declarations to articles 14, 22 and 38 of the
Convention.
Legislation
7.
The Committee recommends that the State party develop child-rights impact
assessment procedures for national and subnational legislation and policies relevant to
children.
Coordination
8.
Recalling its previous recommendations,5 the Committee recommends that the
State party:
(a)
Provide the intercountry task force on children’s rights with a clear
mandate and sufficient authority to coordinate all activities related to the
implementation of the Convention at the national and municipal levels and across
sectors, and the implementation of the various action plans in the area of children’s
rights;
(b)
Ensure that the task force is provided with the human, technical and
financial resources necessary to support the effective and equal implementation of the
Convention across the constituent countries, including through a common set of goals
and mechanism for monitoring implementation, and that it includes the participation
of children and civil society.
Allocation of resources
9.
With reference to its general comment No. 19 (2016) on public budgeting for the
realization of children’s rights, the Committee recommends that the State party
incorporate a child rights-based approach into the State budgeting process and:
(a)
Implement a tracking system for the allocation, use and monitoring of
resources for children throughout all constituent countries, with a view to eliminating
disparities and ensuring equitability, and assess how investments in all sectors serve the
best interests of children;

4

CRC/C/15/Add.114, para. 7; CRC/C/15/Add.227, para. 11; CRC/C/NLD/CO/3, para. 11; and
CRC/C/NLD/CO/4, para. 7.
5 CRC/C/NLD/CO/4, para. 11.
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(b)
Ensure transparent and participatory budgeting processes at central,
regional and local levels in which civil society, the public and children can participate
effectively;
(c)
Conduct independent and participatory impact assessments of its tax and
financial policies to ensure that they do not contribute to tax abuse by national
companies operating outside the State party that leads to a negative impact on the
availability of resources for the realization of children’s rights in the countries in which
the companies are operating.
Data collection
10.
The Committee notes the existence of the National Youth Monitor and the
measures taken by Statistics Netherlands to improve its data-collection system, but is
concerned at the lack of a comprehensive and disaggregated data-collection system that
encompasses all areas of the Convention in all constituent countries. It recommends
that the State party:
(a)
Ensure that its data-collection system encompasses all areas of the
Convention and covers both qualitative and quantitative indicators; that the data are
disaggregated by age, sex, disability, geographical location, ethnic origin, nationality
and socioeconomic background; and that data from all relevant entities and
municipalities, irrespective of the different methodologies used, are collected and
analysed;
(b)
Improve the collection and analysis of data on discrimination against
children, mental health, younger children, children in alternative care, child poverty,
children in the justice system, children whose nationality is unknown, child labour, and
violence against children, including sexual exploitation, abuse and trafficking;
(c)
Ensure that the data are shared among relevant ministries, professional
groups and civil society, and used for the evaluation of policies and projects on
children’s rights, including youth care.
Independent monitoring
11.
While welcoming the ratification of the law establishing the children’s
ombudsman in Curaçao and the establishment of a national children’s rights committee
in Sint Maarten, the Committee recommends that the State party expeditiously
establish an independent mechanism for monitoring and promoting children’s rights in
Aruba, and ensure that such mechanisms in all constituent countries are in full
compliance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the
promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) and can receive,
investigate and competently address complaints by children in a child-friendly manner.
Dissemination, awareness-raising and training
12.
The Committee is concerned about the low level of knowledge of the Convention
among children and recommends that the State party:
(a)
Promote the active involvement of children in public outreach activities
and continue its awareness-raising regarding children’s rights among the public,
including by disseminating child-friendly pedagogical material in the different
languages of the State party;
(b)
Ensure systematic training on children’s rights, the Convention, the
Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict and the Optional
Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography for all
professionals working for and with children.
Children’s rights and the business sector
13.
The Committee notes the introduction of legislation requiring businesses to apply
due diligence, and the efforts to revise the national action plan on business and human

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rights. However, it is concerned about reports of the negative impact of the business
sector, including in oil extraction and soy production, on children’s rights and the
environment and the lack of legal accountability for businesses that have violated
children’s rights. Recalling its previous recommendations, 6 the Committee
recommends that the State party:
(a)
Continue to examine and adapt its legislative framework (civil, criminal
and administrative) to ensure the legal accountability of business enterprises and their
subsidiaries operating in or managed from the State party’s territory, including
companies that deal with the extraction of oil or trade in palm oil or soy, in relation to
international and national human rights, labour, environmental and other standards;
(b)
Establish monitoring mechanisms for the investigation and redress of
violations of children’s rights, with a view to improving accountability and
transparency;
(c)
Strengthen its international cooperation against exploitation of children,
through multilateral, regional and bilateral arrangements for its prevention and
elimination.

B.

General principles (arts. 2–3, 6 and 12)
Non-discrimination
14.
The Committee welcomes the establishment of a National Coordinator against
Discrimination and Racism and the measures taken to draft a national plan to combat all
forms of discrimination, but remains concerned that not all municipalities have an antidiscrimination service in accordance with the Municipal Anti-Discrimination Services Act,
and that regional disparities and de facto discrimination disproportionately affect children in
disadvantaged situations, including in education, youth care and the justice system.
15.
Recalling target 10.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee
recommends that the State party:
(a)
Eliminate disparities between constituent countries and all municipalities,
including Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius, regarding children’s access to youth
services, health services, education, social assistance, and support in response to child
abuse and neglect;
(b)
Ensure that all municipalities have a child-friendly anti-discrimination
service where children can easily report cases of discrimination, and mechanisms to
respond effectively and in a child-sensitive manner;
(c)
Ensure the investigation of cases of discrimination against children,
including through specialized units or investigators;
(d)
Evaluate, with the participation of children and civil society actors,
existing measures aimed at combating discrimination against children in disadvantaged
situations, to assess their impact and revise measures accordingly;
(e)
Ensure that children with disabilities, asylum-seeking and migrant
children and children without a regular residence status have access to inclusive and
quality education, including early childhood education, without discrimination;
(f)
Address the overrepresentation of migrant children in special schools and
the justice system, including through mandatory training on non-discrimination for
members of the judiciary, law enforcement officials and teachers;
(g)
Develop policies and awareness-raising measures aimed at addressing the
root causes of de facto discrimination, with a view to eliminating stereotyping of, and
prejudice and discrimination against, inter alia, children belonging to ethnic and
religious minority groups (including Muslims, Jews and children of African descent),

6

4

Ibid., para. 23.

CRC/C/NLD/CO/5-6

refugee, asylum-seeking, migrant and undocumented children, children with
disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children and children living
in poverty.
Best interests of the child
16.

The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a)
Ensure that the principle of the best interests of the child is consistently
applied in programmes and legislative, administrative and judicial proceedings,
including in relation to youth support, placement in guardianship or foster families,
parental custody, education, and migration and asylum procedures, in all constituent
countries;
(b)
Strengthen measures to provide guidance to all relevant persons in
authority for determining the best interests of the child in every area and for giving
those interests due weight as a primary consideration.
Respect for the views of the child
17.
The Committee welcomes the efforts to promote child participation in the
development of programmes affecting children, including in poverty reduction, but
regrets that the minimum age for children’s involvement in many decision-making
processes remains at 12 years of age. Recalling its previous recommendations, 7 the
Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Abolish any age limit for the right of children to express their views in all
issues concerning them and ensure that all children, including those under 12 years of
age, can express their opinion and be heard in all decisions affecting them, including in
courts and civil proceedings;
(b)
Continue to strengthen measures to promote the meaningful and
empowered participation of all children, including children in disadvantaged situations,
within the family, the community, schools and the realm of policymaking at the
municipal and national levels, such as by developing toolkits for consulting children on
national policy issues and ensuring that the outcomes of children’s councils are
systematically fed into public decision-making;
(c)
Ensure that all relevant professionals, including teachers and youth care
professionals, working with and for children, systematically receive appropriate
training on the right of the child to be heard and have his or her opinion taken into
account in accordance with the child’s age and maturity.

C.

Civil rights and freedoms (arts. 7–8 and 13–17)
Birth registration and nationality
18.
The Committee is concerned that conditions under which stateless children may
apply for Dutch nationality under the current Nationality Act, which include a
requirement of three years of legal residency, are very strict. Recalling its previous
recommendations,8 the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Ensure that all children born in Aruba and Curaçao, including those with
an irregular residence status, have access to birth registration and/or identity cards,
and strengthen legal pathways to acquire a nationality;
(b)
Guarantee all stateless children born or present within the territory of the
State party the right to acquire nationality irrespective of residency status;
(c)
Implement measures for ensuring that children with an “unknown”
nationality, a status that leaves them unable to be registered as stateless and obtain
7
8

Ibid., para. 31.
Ibid., para. 33.
5

CRC/C/NLD/CO/5-6

international protection, do not remain with such a status for a prolonged period of
time;
(d)
Ensure access to education, health services and social services for stateless
children and children with an “unknown” nationality;
(e)
Ensure that no child, including those between 16 and 17 years of age, is
deprived of his or her nationality for actions that are considered to constitute a threat
to national security, and also consider children’s best interests when such withdrawals
of nationality are imposed on parents.
Right to privacy and access to appropriate information
19.
While welcoming the various efforts undertaken by the State party to protect the
rights of children in the context of digital media, and with reference to its general
comment No. 25 (2021) on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment, the
Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Further develop regulations and safeguarding policies to protect the
rights and safety of children in the digital environment;
(b)
Ensure that laws on access to information and the digital environment
respect children’s right to privacy, protect children from harmful content and materials
and online risks, and provide for effective mechanisms to prosecute perpetrators,
including in the context of extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Right to identity
20.
The Committee notes that no newborns have been placed in “baby rooms”
without information about their mother during the reporting period, and recommends
that the State party continue to ensure that the right of children left at hospitals to know
their origins is respected.

D.

Violence against children (arts. 19, 24 (3), 28 (2), 34, 37 (a) and 39)
Violence against children
21.
The Committee is concerned about the high prevalence of violence against children,
including sexual exploitation and online violence, in the State party, and the lack of
legislative measures to protect children from abuse, domestic violence and corporal
punishment in Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius.
22.
Taking note of targets 5.2, 16.1 and 16.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals,
the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Ensure the effective investigation of and intervention in all cases of
violence against children, including neglect and sexual abuse, in and outside the home,
and in the digital environment, especially cases involving sexual exploitation,
cyberaggression and grooming;
(b)
Take legislative and administrative measures to set up a child protection
infrastructure in Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius;
(c)
Ensure the availability of legal support and child-friendly and confidential
complaint mechanisms in residential care, mental health institutions, foster care
systems and child protection services, and ensure that cases are promptly addressed;
(d)
Strengthen measures for ensuring that children who are victims or
witnesses of violence have prompt access to child-friendly and multisectoral remedies
and comprehensive support, including forensic interviews and psychological therapy,
by ensuring that the multidisciplinary (MDA++) approach is child-centred through its
methodology, with the aim of preventing the secondary victimization of those children;
(e)
Strengthen efforts to train professionals concerned to identify and
adequately respond to cases of violence and child abuse in accordance with the

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mandatory reporting code for domestic violence and child abuse and other relevant
protocols, while simplifying such protocols to reduce the administrative burden on
professionals;
(f)
Develop initiatives aimed at protecting children with disabilities and
transgender and gender-diverse children from all forms of violence, including physical
and mental abuse, maltreatment and sexual exploitation;
(g)
Ensure the explicit prohibition of corporal punishment by law in
alternative care settings, day care and schools in Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius, and
strengthen awareness-raising campaigns aimed at promoting positive, non-violent and
participatory forms of child-rearing and discipline and underscoring the adverse
consequences of corporal punishment;
(h)
Enhance access to treatment programmes for children with sexually
inappropriate behaviour, including children who may have committed sexual offences,
and ensure that such children receive appropriate therapeutic attention and benefit
from child protection measures.
Harmful practices
23.

The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a)
Prohibit the performance of unnecessary medical or surgical treatment on
intersex children where those procedures may be safely deferred until children are able
to provide their informed consent, and provide reparations for children who received
unnecessary treatment;
(b)
Provide adequate social, medical and psychological services, counselling
and support to intersex children and their families;
(c)
Prohibit the use of isolation and restraint as disciplinary measures in
mental health institutions and alternative care settings.

E.

Family environment and alternative care (arts. 5, 9–11, 18 (1)–(2), 20–
21, 25 and 27 (4))
Family environment
24.
Noting with deep concern the high number of children who were separated from
their families due to economic reasons, including in the context of the childcare benefits
affair, the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Prohibit the separation of children from their families and their
placement in alternative care on the basis of only the economic situation of those
families, including where parents are staying in homeless shelters, and ensure that
children staying in such shelters receive comprehensive support;
(b)
Consider abolishing the self-reliance criteria under the Social Support Act
or develop a policy aimed at supporting families that are homeless for economic reasons;
(c)
Ensure that all children affected by the childcare benefits affair receive
compensation and psychosocial support and that measures aimed at the rehabilitation
of affected families take a child rights-based approach.
Children deprived of a family environment
25.
The Committee welcomes the State party’s efforts to reduce the provision of
youth care in closed institutions, to reduce involuntary out-of-home placements and to
ensure that policies regarding breakdowns of foster care placement are informed
through research, but is concerned about the large number of emergency out-of-home
placements, and frequent transfers of children in residential youth care facilities. The
Committee recommends that the State party:

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(a)
Further strengthen its system of foster care and substitute family homes,
with a view to phasing out the institutionalization of children, especially young children;
and allocate adequate funds towards families to promote and support care in a family
environment;
(b)
Provide temporary and safe care alternatives and establish a system of
foster care in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten for children who cannot stay with their
families;
(c)
Undertake more focused efforts to reduce the number of emergency outof-home placements;
(d)
Prevent frequent transfers of children in alternative care settings and
monitor the quality of care therein, including by improving the availability of the
national Health and Youth Care Inspectorate and confidants;
(e)
Strengthen, including through increased funding, measures aimed at
providing education, skills and opportunities for independent living for children leaving
alternative care;
(f)
Ensure that children in youth care and mental health institutions have the
right to appeal decisions made about them;
(g)
Ensure the regular monitoring and evaluation of the quality of care in
alternative care centres in Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius;
(h)
Further strengthen institutional measures in Aruba and Curaçao to
prevent the need for alternative care and to improve the quality of alternative care,
including by strengthening the roles of Family Supervision Agencies;
(i)
Implement the recommendations stemming from the 2018 evaluation of
the Youth Act, including with regard to care for children in marginalized situations and
the allocation of financial resources for children deprived of a family environment.

F.

Children with disabilities (art. 23)
26.
The Committee is concerned about the increase in the number of children with
disabilities attending special schools, lack of access to early education and the number of
exemptions granted to children with disabilities under the Compulsory Education Act.
27.

The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a)
Ensure that all children with disabilities, including those with intellectual
and psychosocial disabilities, have access to and benefit from inclusive education at all
levels, including in Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius;
(b)
Strengthen measures for ensuring inclusive education, including by
adapting curricula and training and assigning specialized teachers and professionals in
integrated classes so that children with learning difficulties receive individual support
and due attention;
(c)
Expeditiously amend the Compulsory Education Act to limit the grounds
for exemption of children with disabilities from compulsory education on physical or
psychological grounds, and allocate sufficient human, technical and financial resources
for the implementation of the Act, with a view to ensuring that exemptions are not used
disproportionately to deny a child’s right to education;
(d)
Strengthen support provided to children with disabilities for their social
integration and individual development and ensure that families of such children know
how to seek the necessary support, including by ensuring that personal health budgets
are sufficient to cover the costs of quality care and that all municipalities implement the
comprehensive assessment framework aimed at ensuring that children with disabilities
receive prompt and early support.

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G.

Basic health and welfare (arts. 6, 18 (3), 24, 26, 27 (1)–(3) and 33)
Health and health services
28.

The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a)
Ensure that measures aimed at preventing and reducing infant mortality
include the provision of quality prenatal and postnatal care for pregnant women in
vulnerable situations, including in asylum centres, and establish a national mechanism
for early identification of at-risk groups of pregnant women;
(b)
Continue efforts to address overweight and obesity in children and actions
to promote a healthy lifestyle, including by regulating the marketing of unhealthy foods
to children, raising public awareness of nutrition issues and ensuring that overweight
and obese children receive the necessary support under the Young People at a Healthy
Weight programme;
(c)
Promote breastfeeding and monitor the implementation of the
International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and the baby-friendly
hospital initiative.
Mental health
29.
The Committee commends the State party for its efforts to promote awareness
of mental health issues and combat related stigma, but is concerned about high rates of
depression and self-harm, including attempted and realized suicides, and long waiting
lists for children seeking mental health services. Taking note of target 3.4 of the
Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Strengthen mental health services and programmes for children,
including by allocating sufficient financial, technical and human resources for
preventive measures under the youth care programme, developing therapeutic
community-based mental health services, and ensuring that the number of qualified
medical professionals, including child psychologists and psychiatrists, is sufficient to
meet children’s mental health needs in a timely manner;
(b)
Invest in addressing the underlying causes of suicide and poor mental
health among children and ensure that children’s perspectives are included in the
development of response services available for children.
Adolescent health
30.
Recalling its general comment No. 20 (2016) on the implementation of the rights
of the child during adolescence and its previous recommendations, 9 the Committee
recommends that the State party:
(a)
Adopt a comprehensive and effective gender-sensitive sexual and
reproductive health policy for adolescents;
(b)
Integrate sexual and reproductive health education into all levels of
education, and ensure that it includes age-appropriate education on gender equality,
sexual diversity, sexual and reproductive health rights, responsible parenthood and
sexual behaviour and violence prevention;
(c)
Strengthen efforts to prevent and address the incidence of drug, alcohol
and tobacco use by adolescents, and ensure the early identification and adequate
referral of adolescents requiring treatment;
(d)
Develop a national strategy for preventing and addressing gaming
disorders, and ensure that adolescents with gaming disorders or other forms of online
addiction receive the necessary help and support.

9

CRC/C/NLD/CO/4, para. 47.
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Impact of climate change on the rights of the child
31.
The Committee welcomes the national Clean Air Agreement, signed in 2020, but is
nonetheless concerned about the negative impact of climate change on the rights of the child
and the high prevalence of pollution-induced asthma.
32.
Drawing attention to targets 13.2 and 13.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals,
the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the State party’s
international commitments, and ensure that national policies and programmes on
environmental protection and climate change are implemented in accordance with the
principles of the Convention and taking into account children’s needs and views;
(b)
Take effective measures for the mitigation of and adaptation to the
harmful effects of climate change, including the heightened risks of the rise in sea levels
and stronger hurricanes to the islands in the Caribbean;
(c)
Conduct an assessment of policies and practices related to the aviation,
transport and other relevant sectors and the impacts of the resulting atmosphere
pollution and greenhouse gas emissions on children’s rights as a basis for designing a
well-resourced strategy to remedy the situation;
(d)
Promote, with the active participation of schools, children’s awareness of
climate change and environmental health, including with regard to relevant air quality
and climate legislation and their right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable
standard of health.
Standard of living
33.
The Committee welcomes the measures taken to combat child poverty but is
concerned that the overall number of children living in poverty remains high. Recalling
target 1.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee recommends that the
State party:
(a)
Further strengthen its policies to ensure that all children in all constituent
countries have an adequate standard of living, including by increasing social benefits
for low-income families with children, simplifying application procedures for financial
support, strengthening the system of family benefits across all departments, developing
measures to prevent homelessness and increasing budget allocations for the benefits
system in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten;
(b)
Strengthen measures to provide families in need with adequate and longterm social housing and other support measures, with a view to reducing homelessness
and guaranteeing children’s access to adequate housing;
(c)
Ensure an integrated and development-oriented approach to child
poverty with a particular focus on children from disadvantaged families, including
children in single-parent households, children in welfare-dependent families, migrant
children, children without a regular residence status and children living in shelters;
(d)
Assess the impact of measures to combat poverty, including any negative
effects on the enjoyment of other rights, with a view to ensuring that such measures are
comprehensive and follow a child rights-based approach.

H.

Education, leisure and cultural activities (arts. 28–31)
Education, including vocational training and guidance
34.
Recalling its previous recommendations, 10 the Committee draws attention to
targets 4.2, 4.5 and 4.a of the Sustainable Development Goals and recommends that the
State party:

10

10

Ibid., para. 51.

CRC/C/NLD/CO/5-6

(a)
Continue its efforts to reduce and prevent school dropout and exclusions
from school, based on an analysis of the root causes;
(b)
Finalize and adopt the draft bill on homeschooling and establish a
monitoring mechanism aimed at ensuring minimum quality standards for
homeschooling;
(c)
Allocate sufficient human, technical and financial resources for the
implementation of the Safety at School Act and ensure that measures aimed at
combating bullying in schools, including online bullying, encompass prevention, early
detection mechanisms, the empowerment of children and professionals, intervention
protocols, awareness-raising on its harmful effects, and harmonized guidelines for the
collection of case-related data.
Human rights education
35.
The Committee regrets the omission of an explicit reference to children’s rights
in the legislation on citizenship education in primary and secondary education curricula.
Drawing attention to target 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee
recommends that the State party strengthen efforts to promote the development of a
culture of human rights in the education system and:
(a)
Strengthen the teaching of children’s rights and the Convention within the
mandatory school curricula in all educational settings, including in residential
institutions, and in the training of teachers and education professionals, taking into
account the framework of the World Programme for Human Rights Education;
(b)
Develop human rights education materials that foster respect for and
appreciation of diversity, and ensure that teachers receive the necessary support to
teach children’s rights in schools.

I.

Special protection measures (arts. 22, 30, 32–33, 35–36, 37 (b)–(d) and
38–40)
Asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children
36.

The Committee is concerned about:

(a)
The impact of recent amendments to the Aliens Decree on asylum-seeking and
refugee children, including the merger of the registration interview and the first interview;
(b)
Reports that cases of asylum-seeking children over 15 years of age are
sometimes assessed by employing the same criteria used for adults;
(c)
The lack of legislation protecting the rights of asylum-seeking children, the
lack of publicly available information on asylum-seeking procedures and the barriers faced
by such children in accessing identification papers and essential services, including education,
in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten;
(d)
Reports of the deportation of asylum-seeking children without review of their
cases and the detention of such children or the separation of children from parents who are
detained for immigration-related purposes in Aruba and Curaçao.
37.
With reference to joint general comments No. 3 and No. 4 of the Committee on
the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families/No.
22 and No. 23 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (2017) on the human rights
of children in the context of international migration, the Committee recommends that
the State party:
(a)
Ensure child-friendly asylum procedures for all children under the age of
18 years, including by: (i) ensuring the early identification of their vulnerabilities and
child-specific forms of persecution and that they are interviewed in a child-friendly
manner; (ii) ensuring that all asylum claims, including those submitted by children over
15 years of age, are reviewed in a child-sensitive manner and with due consideration for

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the age at which they fled their country of origin; and (iii) providing them with ageappropriate information and legal advice about their rights, asylum procedures,
available services and requirements for documentation, particularly in view of recent
amendments to the Aliens Decree;
(b)
Ensure that the best interests of asylum-seeking children are given
primary consideration in all asylum processes and that their views are heard, taken into
account and given due weight;
(c)
Ensure that the rights of asylum-seeking and refugee children in all
constituent countries are guaranteed under legislation, including by: (i) ensuring that
such children are registered and issued with legal identification documents; (ii)
adopting legislation governing asylum procedures and preventing the refoulement of
such children; (iii) ensuring that such children have access to justice mechanisms and
remedies; and (iv) extending territorial application of the Convention relating to the
Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol to Curaçao and Sint Maarten;
(d)
Prohibit and prevent the separation of asylum-seeking and migrant
children from their parents and the detention and/or deportation of children across all
constituent countries, including Aruba and Curaçao, on the basis of their or their
parents’ migration status;
(e)
Remove the barriers faced by asylum-seeking and refugee children in
Aruba and Curaçao in accessing education, health, housing and other essential services,
with a view to ensuring that all such children have access to all basic services without
discrimination;
(f)
Prioritize the immediate transfer of asylum-seeking children and their
families from emergency reception facilities and invest the resources necessary to
improve and expand reception facilities that are child-friendly, with a view to
preventing overcrowding and frequent transfers of children between different facilities;
(g)
Adopt permanent and sustainable resettlement options for asylumseeking children and their families in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten to ensure that
they are given proper legal status and access to employment and other opportunities.
Unaccompanied children
38.
The Committee welcomes the measures taken to facilitate family reunification
for unaccompanied and separated children and to provide them with support in smallscale reception facilities or family-based care, but is concerned about the strict criteria
for approving family reunification of children whose parents cannot be traced. The
Committee is further concerned about children who disappear from such facilities. The
Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Review its system of family reunification involving unaccompanied
children, particularly for those living independently and those who do not have parents
or whose parents cannot be traced, with a view to broadening the criteria for emotional
ties with other family members or legal guardians;
(b)
Strengthen measures aimed at ensuring that decisions on applications for
family reunification are taken promptly and within the maximum time permitted under
legislation, including by allocating sufficient financial, human and technical resources
for the asylum system;
(c)
Appoint a guardian or adviser for unaccompanied children in all
constituent countries;
(d)
Provide unaccompanied children with durable solutions, including
residence status, foster care and support for their social integration;
(e)
Continue to investigate reports of disappearances of children from
reception facilities and take measures to prevent such disappearances.

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Trafficking
39.
The Committee welcomes the measures taken to address trafficking in children
but remains concerned that residence permits are rarely issued to child victims of
trafficking who do not cooperate in a criminal investigation, despite their eligibility
under recent policy changes, because there is a lack of related criminal investigations.
The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Issue special residency permits for all alleged child victims of trafficking,
irrespective of related criminal investigations, and ensure sufficient human, technical
and financial resources for and coordination among authorities working on the
protection of child victims of trafficking at all levels;
(b)
Develop a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the implementation
of the “Together against human trafficking” programme, based on a clear set of
measurable outcomes and indicators;
(c)
Ensure that all municipalities have developed strategies or action plans
for preventing and combating trafficking in children, including for online sexual
exploitation and their criminal exploitation by “lover boys”.
Administration of child justice
40.
The Committee welcomes the measures taken to ensure the applicability of the child
justice system in all constituent countries and to promote alternative measures to detention,
including through small-scale facilities that allow children to stay close to home. However,
it is concerned that:
(a)

The age of criminal responsibility is 12 years;

(b)
The juvenile courts can, in specific situations, impose sanctions for adults on
children who had reached the age of 16 at the time the offence was committed;
(c)
Children are not routinely provided with legal representation for certain “nonserious offences”;
(d)
A significant proportion of children in justice institutions are in pretrial
detention, including in police cells, and that children in Curaçao are sometimes detained with
adults;
(e)
Children in youth care facilities, including residential youth care and mental
health care institutions, are sometimes separated from other children without proper records
being kept;
(f)
There is limited information on prevention measures aimed at addressing the
root causes of children’s involvement in the child justice system, particularly in Curaçao;
(g)
The law still permits DNA samples to be taken from children who have been
sentenced to prison, detention in a youth custody centre or community service of 40 hours or
more, and the storage of the DNA profiles in a database;
(h)
Some children with specified offences, including those who were convicted for
a sexual crime, will not be able to obtain a certificate of conduct.
41.
With reference to its general comment No. 24 (2019) on children’s rights in the
child justice system, the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)

Consider raising the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years;

(b)
Consider a review of legislation to ensure the application of its child justice
system to all children below the age of 18 years;
(c)
Prevent and limit the use of pretrial detention by ensuring that children
who are arrested and deprived of their liberty are promptly brought before a competent
authority to examine the legality of the deprivation of liberty or its continuation;

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(d)
Monitor the application of deprivation of liberty to ensure that it is used
only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period of time, and that it
is regularly reviewed with a view to its withdrawal;
(e)
Ensure that any separation of a child from other children is for the
shortest possible time and is imposed only for the protection of the child or others, in
the presence of, or under the close supervision of, a suitably trained staff member, and
that the reasons and duration are recorded;
(f)
Ensure that in all parts of the Kingdom, in cases where detention is
unavoidable, children are not detained together with adults and that detention
conditions comply with international standards;
(g)
Develop a strategy for the prevention of child offending in all parts of the
Kingdom, including early intervention directed at children below the minimum age of
criminal responsibility;
(h)
Reconsider the routine practice of the testing and storage of DNA in
respect of children convicted of certain specified offences;
(i)
Review aspects of its criminal record system that prevent children
charged with certain offences from obtaining a certificate of conduct, including with
respect to erasing the criminal records of children who are acquitted or have completed
their sentence, including for sexual offences.

J.

Follow-up to the Committee’s previous concluding observations and
recommendations concerning the implementation of the Optional
Protocols to the Convention
Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
42.
The Committee is concerned about the large quantity of online sexual abuse
material hosted on servers in the State party. With reference to its 2019 guidelines
regarding the implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights
of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, 11 and
recalling its previous recommendations,12 the Committee recommends that the State
party:
(a)
Ensure that all forms of the sale of children are criminalized, in line with
articles 2 and 3 of the Optional Protocol, particularly with regard to the sale of children
under surrogacy arrangements and improperly inducing consent for adoption;
(b)
Prevent and address the online sale of children for the purpose of sexual
exploitation and abuse, including by: (i) ensuring that national legal and policy
frameworks adequately cover all manifestations of the sale and sexual exploitation of
children committed or facilitated through information and communications
technologies; (ii) conducting online-specific analyses, research and monitoring to better
understand online offences and develop appropriate responses; (iii) ensuring that
Internet service providers control, block and promptly remove online sexual abuse
material; and (iv) integrating specific components on online offences, as well as online
tools to facilitate victim identification techniques and rescue operations, into the
mandatory training of law enforcement officials, lawyers, the judiciary and other
relevant professionals.
Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict
43.
Recalling its previous recommendations,13 the Committee recommends that the
State party:

11

CRC/C/156.
CRC/C/NLD/CO/4, para. 62. See also CRC/C/OPSC/NLD/CO/1.
13 CRC/C/OPAC/NLD/CO/1.
12

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(a)
Raise the minimum age of voluntary recruitment into the armed forces to
18 years, and explicitly criminalize the recruitment or use of children under the age of
18 years in hostilities by non-State armed groups;
(b)
Establish in law extraterritorial jurisdiction over crimes under the
Optional Protocol without the criterion of double criminality;
(c)
Extend the protection provided under the Convention relating to the
Status of Refugees to all children who are 15 to 17 years of age, irrespective of the crime
committed;
(d)
Establish a mechanism for the early identification of children who may
have been involved in armed conflicts abroad upon entering the State party and provide
them with support for their social and psychological recovery and their reintegration
into society.

K.

Ratification of the Optional Protocol on a communications procedure
44.
The Committee recommends that the State party, in order to further strengthen
the fulfilment of children’s rights, ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on a
communications procedure.

L.

Ratification of international human rights instruments
45.
The Committee recommends that the State party, in order to further strengthen
the fulfilment of children’s rights, consider ratifying the International Convention on
the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

M.

Cooperation with regional bodies
46.
The Committee recommends that the State party continue to cooperate with the
Council of Europe on the implementation of the Convention and other human rights
instruments, both in the State party and in other Council of Europe member States.

IV. Implementation and reporting
A.

Follow-up and dissemination
47.
The Committee recommends that the State party take all appropriate measures
to ensure that the recommendations contained in the present concluding observations
are fully implemented and that a child-friendly version is disseminated to, and made
widely accessible for, children, including those in the most disadvantaged situations.
The Committee also recommends that the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports and
the present concluding observations be made widely available in the languages of the
country.

B.

National mechanism for reporting and follow-up
48.
The Committee recommends that the State party establish a standing
government structure to coordinate and prepare reports to and engage with
international and regional human rights mechanisms, and to coordinate and track
national follow-up to, and implementation of, treaty obligations and the
recommendations and decisions emanating from such mechanisms. The Committee
emphasizes that such a structure should be adequately and continuously supported by
dedicated staff and should have the capacity to consult systematically with the national
human rights institutions and civil society.

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C.

Next report
49.
The Committee invites the State party to submit its seventh periodic report by 6
March 2027 and to include therein information on the follow-up to the present
concluding observations. The report should be in compliance with the Committee’s
harmonized treaty-specific reporting guidelines14 and should not exceed 21,200 words. 15
In the event that a report exceeding the established word limit is submitted, the State
party will be asked to shorten the report. If the State party is not in a position to review
and resubmit the report, translation thereof for the purposes of consideration by the
treaty body cannot be guaranteed.
50.
The Committee also invites the State party to submit an updated core document,
not exceeding 42,400 words, in accordance with the requirements for the common core
document contained in the harmonized guidelines on reporting under the international
human rights treaties, including guidelines on a common core document and treatyspecific documents16 and paragraph 16 of General Assembly resolution 68/268.

14

CRC/C/58/Rev.3.
General Assembly resolution 68/268, para. 16.
16 HRI/GEN/2/Rev.6, chap. I.
15

16