We have a tradition of welcoming civil society representatives for informative consultations. The Netherlands attaches great importance to consultations and dialogue with civil society, which we consider to be an essential link between society and the government. The government is working closely with the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights. Human rights in other EU member states should also be regularly looked at. That is why the Netherlands is open for discussion with other countries that have remarks on the status of human rights in the Netherlands. Whoever wants to address human rights must be willing to account for human rights themselves. We ask attention for their work worldwide and stimulates the capacity building of human rights defenders and organisations, for example through the Human Rights Fund and through embassies. The Kingdom of the Netherlands supports human rights defenders by offering them visibility and protection. A majority of the Dutch people attach great value to these subjects, because they fit within the values we share. Priorities in the Dutch policy are the protection of human rights defenders, advocate equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer persons and persons of another gender and sexual orientation (LGBTIQ+), and advocate equal rights for women.
