Human Rights

Human rights should apply worldwide, to all people, in all places, at all times. The Netherlands spends € 4,5 million annually to promote human right throughout the globe. In South Africa, we partner with the South African government and non-governmental organizations. We focus on equal rights for women and LGBTI, but also engage on other human rights topics.

Through our Human Rights Fund we support several local organisations in achieving their human right goals.

In South Africa, promoting women’s rights is the number one priority of our human rights policy. We aim to achieve gender equality along two mutually reinforcing tracks: eliminating violence against women and promoting economic empowerment.

‘Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.’ Maya Angelou, American writer and poet

Women rights

When women get the opportunity to become financially independent, they become socially independent too and therefore less prone to domestic violence. This is the core vision of organizations like Rhiza Babuyile, that provides women entrepreneurs in several townships with coaching and a start-up capital.

'To those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, let me say, you are not alone. Your struggle for an end to violence and discrimination is a shared struggle. Any attack on you, is an attack on the universal values the United Nations.' Ban Ki-moon, former UN Secretary-General

Same-sex relations

The Netherlands was the first country in the world to introduce same-sex marriage (2001). In 2006, South Africa was the first African country and the fourth country in the world to follow.

The Netherlands works together with South African organisations in promoting equal rights for and eliminating violence against LGBTI people in Africa. Our main partner in this regard is the Centre for Human Rights (CHR).

The Netherlands has supported the establishment of the LGBTI-unit at the Centre for Human Rights, where CHR provides training for LGBTI organisations and civil servants from Africa. The programme also allocates scholarships to LGBTI activists from Africa. It has a strong multilateral component: it is actively involved in lobby work at both the UN and the AU; and assists other African LGBTI organisations to access these institutions.

‘Let this, however, be clear: there is no place in a democracy for any community to impose its will at the expense of the fundamental rights of any other citizen.’ Nelson Mandela, first democratic president of South Africa

Rule of law

Without the promotion of human rights, there can be no true democracy or a just rule of law. Therefore, we support projects that sustain South Africa as a just and peaceful society in various ways, including the promotion of socio-economic rights.

YouthZones is a project that creates safe spaces for the youth in low-income communities, where youth and children can play freely, learn IT-skills and get assistance in developing their businesses.  

International Cultural Policy

Responsibility for the Netherlands’ international cultural policy is jointly shared by the Minister of Foreign Affairs (BZ), the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation (BHOS) and the Minister of Education, Culture and Science (OCW).

Culture and the arts enrich individuals and bind society together. Culture shows who we are, where we come from and what we stand for. Cultural partnerships and exchanges with foreign countries provide inspiration, increase our store of knowledge and give access to high-quality culture and arts.

Internationalisation can also promote the development of talent, and exhibitions, performances and translations can help Dutch artists and art institutions reach a wider audience.

The International Cultural Policy for 2021-2024 has three objectives:

• Strengthen the Dutch cultural sector abroad through visibility, exchanges and long-term partnerships.
• Support bilateral relationships with other countries through Dutch cultural expression.
• Harness the power of the cultural sector and creative industries in efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

You can read the full document through the link below
International cultural policy 2021-2024 | Parliamentary document | Government.nl

South Africa is a focal country for the Netherlands International Heritage Cooperation Programme.
International Heritage Cooperation | DutchCulture

Peace and Security

The Netherlands is home and host to the global commitment to peace and justice. In The Hague, the legal capital of the world, over 130 organizations foster peace and justice through their daily work. They prevent and prosecute violations of basic human rights, help strengthen legal systems in countries where they are weak and they establish a more peaceful and stable world through international cooperation.

Looking at the past hundred years, the Dutch commitment to peace and justice shows a clear evolution from dispute settlement to global justice. The Hague Peace Conferences at the turn of the 20th century laid the foundations for the Centre of Excellence on Peace and Justice which The Netherlands is today. The PCA is considered the precursor of The Hague’s emerging role as Legal Capital of the World.

Transnational rule of law

Peace and justice are no longer limited to achieving armistice after war. They now involve capacity building, working on the very conditions that make it possible for peace and justice to thrive. Building up the legal order in post-conflict and fragile states. Instigating transnational rule of law, so that persons everywhere in the world can and are held accountable for their actions, so that victims of war crimes are compensated and that citizens everywhere in the world can count on justice being done in The Hague.The Netherlands takes the lead in fighting impunity for perpetrators of crimes against humanity by continually seeking to expand the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Both are seated in The Hague, the former is the highest court of the United Nations. The latter is an independent judicial institution, set up by the signatory states of the Rome Statute.

Europol and Eurojust

The Netherlands further supports the work of multilateral organizations such as Europol and Eurojust, in the fight against organized crime. The OPCW, in the fight against chemical weapons. And the Hague Conference on Private International Law, in the fight against international child abduction.

The Netherlands invests actively and structurally in sound and responsive host country policy. It invests millions of Euros each year to support international organizations such as Europol, Eurojust, the Lebanon Tribunal, the ICC and others, creating the conditions for thecourts and other organizations dedicated to peace and justice to conduct their activities to the best of their ability.