News item | 17-02-2023 | 18:27
Today, Minister Hanke Bruins Slot (Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations) signed the Constitutional Amendment to Article 1. From now on, disability and sexual orientation have been added to the grounds for discrimination. The constitutional amendment resulted from an initiative of the House of Representatives.
Exactly 40 years ago today, the major Constitutional Revision of 1983 took place and the prohibition of discrimination was given a place in the first article of our Constitution. Today, sexual orientation and disability were added to the grounds of discrimination.
Minister Hanke Bruins Slot: “It was very valuable to be together today with all the main players of this Constitutional Amendment and to complete the amendment of Article 1 of the Constitution. My thanks go to all those people who have worked hard for this. The Constitution reflects our values”.
During the meeting surrounding the signing, the chairmen of Gehandicapten Zorg Nederland and supporters club Roze Kameraden (Feyenoord) and the chairperson of the eye club, among others, explained what the Constitutional Amendment meant to them. The three initiators of the House of Representatives, Alexander Hammelburg, Habtamu de Hoop and Laura Bromet, also outlined the background to the creation. Minister Helder and Minister Dijkgraaf, who respectively have care and support for people with disabilities and emancipation in their portfolios, explained what the Constitutional Amendment means for them.
The new and therefore current Article 1 of the Constitution reads from now on:
“All who are in the Netherlands are treated equally in equal cases. Discrimination on the basis of religion, belief, political opinion, race, gender, disability, sexual orientation or on any other basis is not allowed”.