The Netherlands: Decision to allow continued use of ethnic profiling “throws international human rights law out of the window”

Following a decision by a District Court in The Hague to reject a claim brought by Amnesty Netherlands and a coalition of NGOs and individual claimants that the use of ethnicity in stop and searches by Dutch border police was discriminatory, Amnesty Netherlands’ Director, Dagmar Oudshoorn said:

“Today’s ruling that the Dutch border police can continue to use ethnic profiling not only throws international human rights law out of the window, but also tramples Article 1 of the Dutch constitution.

“By ruling that police can target people based on skin colour and race the court has allowed a practice that is in a clear violation of the prohibition against discrimination to continue. We will appeal this decision.”