Children’s rights under pressure in the Netherlands; Teens fear war

The Children’s Rights Collective warns that children’s rights in the Netherlands are in a troubling state. Chairman Marc Dullaert said politicians are failing to act with urgency. “There’s no shortage of plans, but they’re not being put into practice. Implementation has stalled, while children continue to wait.”

Every year, the Children’s Rights Collective tracks the Dutch government’s progress on the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s recommendations through its Children’s Rights in Motion report. The report shows that fundamental rights, such as education, protection from poverty and online sexual abuse, and humane asylum conditions, continue to be systematically undermined.

Dullaert said that the committee has repeatedly called on the Netherlands to step up its efforts for children, but the government’s response has been insufficient.

According to Dullaert, the Netherlands is consistently failing to uphold children’s right to education. Nearly 280,000 children are unable to access appropriate schooling, largely due to a chronic shortage of teachers, particularly in special education.

He also warned that poverty is deepening the educational divide. “One in every 28 children in the Netherlands grows up in poverty,” he said. “Efforts to address it remain minimal. School breakfasts are a good initiative, but they only treat the symptoms. Some children simply have far fewer chances than their peers.”

Half of young people between the ages of 12 and 25 experience online sexual abuse or harassment, Dullaert claimed. “There’s been a shift of abuse into the online world,” he said. “And the Netherlands is ill-equipped to deal with it.”

Although there is an EU proposal designed to curb online exploitation, the Dutch government has refused to back it. “The Netherlands prioritizes privacy over the safety of millions of children,” Dullaert argued, warning that this stance makes it more difficult to identify and remove child sexual abuse material.

Roughly 7,700 asylum-seeking children in the Netherlands are housed in what the Children’s Rights Collective calls “child-unfriendly emergency shelters.” The supposed six-month limit on their stay is routinely ignored, and prolonged asylum procedures have left some children separated from their parents for more than three years.

“Children are sleeping in gymnasiums, with no privacy, no proper schooling, and no access to healthcare,” Dullaert said. “And the government has allowed this situation to stagnate for over a year.”

It was also reported on Wednesday that a study by UNICEF Netherlands among more than a thousand people aged 10 to 17 shows that seven in ten are worried about the possibility of war in the country. Many say they feel anxious and saddened by the thought.

These feelings are especially common among girls and younger children. Older children more often report feeling disgust and believe that the government is failing to ensure the safety of children.

Images on television and social media are the main cause of this fear. “This is a generation that doesn’t watch the news passively,” said Suzanne Laszlo, UNICEF Netherlands’ director. “They see the scenes from Gaza, Ukraine, and other conflicts and can’t help but ask themselves, could this happen here?”

For younger children, television is the main source of anxiety, whereas social media has a stronger impact on older teens. Yet despite their fears, many continue to follow news on social platforms, driven by a desire to understand what’s happening in the world around them.

Children noted that they wish to see fewer disturbing images on social media. They also want schools and parents to talk with them more about their fears.