UN criticizes Netherlands about disability accessibility

The Netherlands is doing too little for people with disabilities in various areas, according to a UN committee that has assessed the situation in the country. In a critical evaluation, the committee shows concern about the accessibility of education, public transport, and the labor market. The members are also critical of compulsory treatment in mental health care, for example: the Netherlands should put an end to this, the members believe.

Research and data have given the committee the impression that people with disabilities, and in particular intellectual disabilities, "still face stigmatization and discrimination."

The authors of the report believe that agreements from the UN treaty have not yet been sufficiently implemented. According to their report, published on Tuesday, the Netherlands must urgently "systematically assess" existing legislation and bring it into line with the treaty.

The list of criticisms and recommendations is long. For example, the committee also believes that the school system should become "fully inclusive." The authors of the report state that special education should, therefore, end. Their findings are not binding; they constitute advice to the Dutch government.

The reviewers are also not happy about the accessibility of government websites. Furthermore, they see major differences between municipalities in the area of ​​inclusivity policy and find that undesirable.

Ieder(in), the umbrella organization for people with disabilities or chronic illnesses, applauds the committee for drawing "pungent conclusions." "Finally, the government is being critically addressed on its inadequate policy for people with disabilities," the organization states. It calls it "very important recognition" and urges the government to "take these recommendations extremely seriously and implement them."

On several points, the authors of the report also take political positions on issues on which there are divergent views. For example, they are "concerned" about the use of the non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT), which can detect Down syndrome and the fatal Edwards and Patau syndromes in a fetus. They note that the NIPT can lead to the termination of pregnancies and believe that this "reflects underlying discriminatory attitudes towards people with disabilities."