The Appearance of the Netherlands before the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Part A 7 Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights 1989

About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

7 Neth. Q. Hum. Rts. 308 (1989)
The Appearance of the Netherlands before the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

handle is hein.journals/nethqur22 and id is 326 raw text is: NQHR 3 / 1989

THE APPEARANCE OF THE NETHERLANDS BEFORE THE UN
COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
Scott Leckie
I Introduction
II General Issues
III Substantive Issues
IV Analysis
I Introduction
On 15 February 1989 the Government of the Netherlands appeared for
the first time before the UN Committee entrusted with monitoring com-
pliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (CESCR). During its third session the Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights had before it three reports submitted by the
Netherlands in accordance with Article 16 of the CESCR: the initial
report on Articles 6-9 (E/1984/6/Add.20); the second periodic report on
Articles 10-12 (E/1986/4/Add.24); and the initial report on Articles 13-
15 as applicable in the Netherlands Antilles (E/1982/3/Add.44). The
Dutch delegation consisted of six persons and was led by Mr. Jaap
Walkate.
The analysis of State reports remains the most important means of
monitoring compliance with this instrument at the international level. The
quality of these reports and the willingness of States representatives to
cooperate during this process of examination are thus critical to this
exercise. While the quality of the Dutch reports is certainly admirable,
by discussing some of the statements made and the overall performance
of this delegation, this short report may force one to ponder just how
seriously this State takes its international obligations in practice. That is,
when we leap from the arena of rhetoric into the realms of reality.
With the availability of three different reports from the Netherlands,
the Committee had the opportunity of monitoring, to one extent or the
other, each substantive article found in the Covenant. The process of
monitoring consists of the following five basic stages: 1) the presentation
* Expert on the right to housing and representative of Habitat International Coalition.

308