News item | 30-06-2025 | 15:00
The Council of Ministers has agreed to the nomination for the appointment of a new chairman and vice -chairman of the College of Human Rights. Mr. Rick Lawson will be chairman of the college for the duration of three years from 1 September 2025. Mr. Pollyan Spoon will become vice -president of the college for a period of three years from 1 September 2025.
Rick Lawson has been professor of European Protection of Human Rights at Leiden University since 2001. He has also been a member since 2020 and since 2021 also vice-chairman of the Board of Directors of the EU ground rights agency in Vienna. He succeeds Interim Chairman Nico Schrijver, whose appointment ends 1 July 2025. Mr. Schrijver was found to continue his interim chairmanship until 1 September 2025. The Council of Ministers has agreed to this.
Pollyan Spoon is currently working as a deputy department head of administrative and legal affairs at the public prosecutor’s public prosecutor’s office. Earlier she was an public prosecutor at various public prosecutors and worked as a lawyer.
The Commission for Human Rights is the national and independent institute that supervises compliance with human rights in the Netherlands, including the Caribbean Netherlands. The Commission does this through research, advice, education and information. In addition, anyone who feels discriminated against, in education or as a consumer, can report this or submit a complaint. In individual cases, the Commission finds whether there is discrimination in accordance with the equal treatment legislation.