Who are we?

The Dutch NGO Coalition for Children’s Rights (Kinderrechtencollectief) is a collaboration of children’s rights organisations active in the Netherlands. Through the Coalition for Children’s Rights, organisations join forces to protect the interests of the child and supervise the safeguarding of children’s rights in Dutch law, policy and practice. The Coalition consists of key members Defence for Children, Kinderpostzegels, the National Youth Council (Nationale Jeugdraad), Save the Children, and Terre des Hommes Netherlands. It has the Netherlands Youth Institute (Nederlands Jeugdinstituut) as its advisor. Besides its key members, the Coalition has many other partners. The Coalition was established in 1995, the year the Netherlands ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Activities

Our goal is that children’s rights are safeguarded in policy, legislation and the activities of organisations and anyone who deals with children. If children’s rights in The Netherlands are violated, we consider it our task to stand up for these children and their rights.

The Coalition for Children’s Rights provides information about children’s rights. Furthermore, we advise the government on how to safeguard children’s rights and where and how improvements should be made. Every five years, the Dutch government reports to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child about the state of children’s rights in the Netherlands. In addition to this state report, we submit a report to the Committee on behalf of the children’s rights organisations. In this report, we provide our vision on the current situation of children’s rights in the Netherlands.

Children’s rights in the Netherlands

The Kingdom of the Netherlands ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995. The Netherlands has also ratified the following international and regional human rights instruments relating to the protection of children: the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict; the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Netherlands has an estimated population of 17.6 million, of which more than 3.4 million are aged under 18 years old. Since 2010, the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprises four autonomous countries: the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten. The islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba became a direct part of the country the Netherlands. They are ‘public entities’, also referred to as special municipalities.

The Netherlands is a prosperous country, where most is well organized for children. But this does not yet apply to all children in our country. For example, one out of 13 children grows up in poverty. Unfortunately, children in the Netherlands are also victims of abuse, exploitation, or neglect. Refugee children in asylum seekers’ centres cannot always go to school and have to move often. Furthermore, many children experience racism and discrimination.

Contact

Please feel free to reach out to us by sending an email to info@kinderrechten.nl.

Reports

Submissions by the Dutch NGO Coalition for Children’s Rights to the UN Committee of the Rights of the Child:

• Open submission of the Dutch NGO Coalition for Children’s Rights to the UN Committee of the Rights of the Child for the second round of consultations for General Comment no. 26 to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, February 2023
• UPR: Joint Submission to the Human rights Council, Universal Periodic Review 41st Session, 4th Cycle, March 2022
• Written input to the State Report, Fifth NGO report of the Dutch NGO Coalition for Children’s Rights tot the UN Committee of the Rights of the Child, April 2021
• Children’s Rights and the Environment in and related to the Netherlands. Additional submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child by the Dutch NGO Coalition on the Children’s Rights, in relation to the State Party Review of the Netherlands, October 2021
• Input to the List of Issues Prior to Reporting (LOIPR) of the UN Committee of the Rights of the Child, July 2019