Outspoken child advocate, gov’t critic to leave office on April 1

Marc Dullaert will have to leave his position as Children's Ombudsman when his term is up on April 1st. National Ombudsman Renier van Zutphen decided he will not nominate Dullaert for reappointment, the Volkskrant reports. According to the newspaper, it is Van Zutphen's legal right not to nominate Dullaert for reappointment. It seems that this decision forms part of a massive reorganization that the new National Ombudsman started. He wants to build his own team. And according to the newspaper, he is annoyed with self-opinionated Dullaert is. Dullaert was appointed the Netherlands' first Children's Ombudsman in 2011. His duty in this position is to stand up for the rights of children and make sure that the government and other organizations do not violate them. He's done so wholeheartedly, often criticizing the government on its policies and how they affect children. Over the past months Dullaert spoke out for special needs kids who are left behind in schools and kids who are being abused. He criticized the municipalities for looking at costs first instead of the interest of a child when choosing medical treatments. And earlier this week he lead the European Network of Ombudsmen for Children, of which he is chairman, in a scathing letter to the European Union about how they are treating child asylum seekers. According to a spokesperson for the National Ombudsman, Dullaert's departure is not a surprise. "Van Zutphen announced his decision in mid-January in a letter to the Tweede Kamer (the lower house of Dutch parliament, ed). Dullaert fulfilled the function of Children's Ombudsman for five years in a wonderful way. We are now looking for a successor."