Netherlands drops out of top 10 countries with best LGBTI rights

The Netherlands dropped out of the top 10 European countries with the best regulated LGBTI rights. The Netherlands is now in 11th place on the Rainbow Index published on Monday, Het Parool reports.

The Rainbow Index is published by European organization ILGA, which stands up for the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersexual people. ILGA calls this a wake-up call for the Netherlands. "A country like the Netherlands, which was always seen as progressive, is no longer among the front runners", director Evelyne Paradis said, according to the newspaper.

According to Paradis, the Netherlands dropped out of the top 10 mainly because the rights of trans and intersexual people are not yet well regulated in the country. For example, the Netherlands does not explicitly prohibit discrimination against these groups.

Dutch gay rights organization COC calls this painful. "It is painful that our country, which was once the first to open marriage for same-sex couples, no longer belongs to the international vanguard when it comes to LGBTI rights", chairman Tanja Ineke said. "We call on the government and parliament to quickly catch up."

Malta is the leader of the Rainbow Europe Index 2018, followed by Belgium and Norway. Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey make up the bottom three.