Researchers say disruptions in protests are not due to existing regulations

Most protests in the Netherlands take place peacefully, so tightening regulations is unnecessary, the Scientific Research and Documentation Centre (WODC) finds. Researchers warn that limiting the right to demonstrate is not only superfluous but also unlikely to achieve its intended effect, and could even have the opposite outcome.

According to the researchers, the issues are not due to the regulations themselves. Police often lack sufficient personnel to manage protests, organizers do not always notify the municipality in advance, and reaching them can sometimes be extremely challenging.

The WODC focused on protests where participants intentionally violate rules, like blockades, as well as demonstrations at abortion clinics, where other fundamental rights might be affected. They excluded large-scale violence and riots from their study, noting that such events are not protected forms of protest.

Caretaker ministers Frank Rijkaart (Interior) and Foort van Oosten (Justice) have not yet commented on the WODC report, though Van Oosten’s spokesperson says a response is expected “soon.”

Prior to the elections, the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, had passed several motions urging stricter rules for protests.

Earlier this year, the ministers’ predecessors noted in a parliamentary letter that they are exploring potential changes to protest laws. They stressed that, in order to preserve public support, it is necessary to examine how demonstrations are conducted in the Netherlands and how the disruptive behavior of a small minority can be prevented from undermining that support.