Discrimination complaints against Dutch gov't more than doubled

Last year, the Dutch police and municipalities registered more reports of discrimination for the third consecutive year. The Institute for Human Rights and the National Ombudsman also received more reports than a year earlier. Complaints about discrimination by the government more than doubled, the Volkskrant reports based on a report published by knowledge center Art.1 on Tuesday.

The National Ombudsman saw the number of complaints about discrimination by a government agency more than double to 321 reports. The Institute for Human Rights handled 700 cases last year, 16 percent more than in 2020.

The police registered 6,580 cases of discrimination, 7 percent more than the year before. Most of these complaints involved discrimination based on origin or sexual orientation. The Netherlands' three largest cities accounted for a significant proportion of the reports. Fourteen percent of reports came from Rotterdam, the same percentage from The Hague, and 13 percent from Amsterdam.

Municipalities received 6,922 discrimination reports via the independent anti-discrimination agencies they are required to have. That is an increase of over 25 percent compared to the year earlier. Most of the reports municipalities received were about the coronavirus access pass and the obligation to wear a face mask. People who did not want to or were unable to comply with the coronavirus measures felt discriminated against, according to the newspaper.

Art.1 drew up the report at the request of the National Police and the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations.