Sources: Cabinet will apologize for the history of Dutch slavery this year

The Cabinet will issue an apology for the Netherlands' history and connections to slavery, sources confirmed after a story about the subject was reported by RTL Nieuws. The expectation is that the apology will be offered in December.

That month, the Cabinet will respond to the report from the Dialooggroep Slavernijverleden, the advisory board that put together an extensive report recommending that the State of the Netherlands recognize its role in slavery, apologize for it, and repair the damage caused by it including addressing institutional racism.

A further 200 million euros will be made available for an awareness fund. A portion of this will be used to pay for teaching kits and educational material for schools. There will also be 27 million euros budgeted for a slavery museum.

The advisory board said in July 2021 that the Netherlands must recognize that it has committed crimes against humanity with its slave trade, which was abolished in the Netherlands in 1863, and must apologize for it. Enslaved people in the Netherlands Antielles and Suriname were freed in 1873 after the transition period ended. According to the commission, the government must also be prepared to remedy this "historical injustice" and its long-lasting consequences.

In the coalition agreement, the current Cabinet has already said that it wants to pay extra attention to the history of slavery in 2023. "We want to pay more attention to our shared history."

In 2020, Prime Minister Mark Rutte rejected the idea of ​​apologizing, fearing that this would not help the social debate and would lead to more polarization. In the run-up to the anniversary year, however, the call for apologies grew increasingly louder and the Tweede Kamer was also clearly behind the idea.

For example, last summer MPs from D66, PvdA, GroenLinks, SP, CDA, BIJ1, ChristenUnie and Volt visited the Caribbean Netherlands and Suriname to delve into the country's slavery past. They then advised the Cabinet to apologize. Rutte said in the summer that he wanted to have a number of conversations about the history of slavery, but then also expressed the expectation that he would be able to take a "next step" later this year.

The Cabinet would not be the first in the Netherlands to apologize for the slave trade. Earlier, the municipalities of Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, the Dutch Central Bank and the province of Noord-Holland were among those who apologized for their role in slavery. The municipality of Middelburg has expressed its intention to do so at the right time.

King Willem-Alexander also referred to 2023, which will mark the 150th anniversary of the end of slavery, in his most recent speech from the throne. "If we want a society where there is no place for racism and discrimination, where everyone feels heard and appreciated, we must openly reflect on the less pleasant chapters in our history. Not to judge our forebears through the prism of modern values, but to understand what our history means to various groups and cultures that form part of our society," Willem-Alexander said on Prinsjesdag.

"By engaging in a dialogue about the past, the government hopes to foster necessary recognition, and help people connect with each other," he continued. "As we approach next year’s 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery, we need to acknowledge this part of our history, too."