Enforcement officers banned from wearing religious symbols from next year
As of the end of 2025, enforcement officers throughout the Netherlands will be banned from wearing visible personal expressions, such as religious symbols. They must have a neutral appearance, Minister David van Weel of Justice and Security wrote in a letter to parliament, NOS reports.
According to Van Weel, a neutral uniform does not include a headscarf, yarmulke, or necklace with a cross. He believes that the measure will “reinforce confidence in [enforcement officers’] impartiality and behavior.”
Municipalities currently have the freedom to decide the requirements for their enforcement officers. But Van Weel is going to lay down with a General Administrative Order that enforcement officers throughout the country must have the same, neutral appearance.
“So that all enforcers in the Netherlands can do their work in a clear and recognizable way,” Van Weel said. “Their role in our constitutional state is essential and they bear a heavy responsibility, especially when violence has to be used. This requires a neutral uniform, without any additions.”
Van Weel is following the line of his predecessor Dilan Yeşilgöz, who also advocated banning headscarves for enforcement officers. Banning religious symbols on enforcement officers was also part of the Schoof I Cabinet’s coalition agreement.
Two years ago, the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights ruled that the ban on religious symbols for enforcers was “stigmatizing and ineffective.” According to the Institute, visibly religious people can still perform their duties impartially.
