News item | 23-06-2023 | 6:50 pm
Today, the Cabinet sent a progress letter on the Cabinet’s response to the slavery history to the House of Representatives. The letter shows what steps have been taken since December 19 and what the follow-up process will look like. Work has been done on the commitments from the government’s response, such as the further implementation of the €200 million fund and the commemoration committee. The government is also increasing its efforts to combat discrimination and racism, for example by strengthening anti-discrimination facilities. Furthermore, concrete matters have already been set in motion, such as various commitments on the islands, the entry into force of the Equal Treatment Act on the BES islands and the possibility of name changes for descendants of enslaved people.
Follow-up process ‘after the comma’
Last December 19, Prime Minister Rutte apologized on behalf of the government for the involvement and role of the Dutch State and its administrative historical predecessors in the slavery past to descendants worldwide, and posthumously to their descendants who still experience the consequences of this past today. The past few months have been dominated by discussions with descendants and other parties involved about the apologies in the European Netherlands, the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. And the Special Envoy for Slavery Past appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Suriname.
Fund and Memorial Committee
Two important commitments from the government’s response are the establishment of a commemoration committee and the fund of €200 million. The commemoration committee will oversee a larger, dignified, Kingdom-wide commemoration of the slavery past, where possible in cooperation with Suriname in this area. The fund is split into two parts. €100 million is intended for a subsidy scheme for social initiatives. The starting point is that the money from the fund should be easily accessible and widely available. The other €100 million is intended for implementing the measures for knowledge and awareness, recognition and commemoration, and further processing and processing. An example of this is the possibility of changing the names of enslaved people free of charge. The cabinet will continue to talk to descendants and other parties involved at all stages of the fund and also when setting up the commemoration committee. The aim is for the subsidy scheme for social initiatives to be ready no later than spring 2024, or as soon as possible, and for the Memorial Committee to start in the summer of 2024.
Strengthen anti-discrimination facilities
Anti-discrimination facilities (ADVs) play an important role in tackling discrimination. People who are confronted with discrimination can report this here. The ADVs also provide advice and assistance. Research shows that not all ADVs can fulfill this role at the moment. That is why the government will make every effort to strengthen these facilities in the coming years.
Commemoration Year Slavery Past
From July 1, 2023 to July 1, 2024, the Slavery Past Commemoration Year will take place. Two funds have been set up for the commemoration year to organize cultural, social and educational activities. The focus is on perspectives that are part of this hitherto underexposed past and that want to commemorate slavery in the then Dutch Kingdom and the period of indentured labour. The interest in this is great. That is why it has already been announced that the available resources for the Mondriaan Fund and the Cultural Participation Fund have tripled. For example, there is an extra 2 million euros for both funds. This amount comes on top of the previously pledged EUR 2 million, making a total of EUR 6 million available. This concerns dozens of projects, including, for example, Wintertuin Curaçao (literary project/digital platform about the common history of Curaçao and Ghana), the Committee for the Remembrance of Javanese Immigration (book and memorial plaque for Javanese contract workers) and a film about Anton de Kom by IJswater Films/Tulsa Studios. In addition, work is being done on an international subsidy scheme to also support initiatives from countries that are connected to the Dutch slavery past, such as Suriname.
The efforts of the Cabinet do not stop after the Commemoration Year. After all, it is about building a structural dialogue about our shared history and jointly taking steps to increase knowledge and awareness in society, to collectively commemorate and to combat the effects of the slavery past together.