Netherlands to come under microscope of U.N. racism investigators

Five U.N. investigators of racial discrimination will be heading to the Netherlands in June, the world body has announced, following their accusations that the Dutch practice racism with the “Black Pete” figure (Zwarte Piet) of the national Sinterklaas celebrations.
The U.N. Human Rights Council’s Working Group on people of African descent only visits one country per year, and therefore the selection of the Netherlands marks it as a country of priority global concern. 
Last year, the working group was among a group of U.N. human rights experts who sent this allegation letter to the Netherlands, demanding a reply as to whether or not “the character and image of Black Pete perpetuate a stereotyped image of African people and people of African descent as second-class citizens, fostering an underlying sense of inferiority within Dutch society and stirring racial differences as well as racism.”
The Dutch government’s reply letter acknowledged a public debate on the matter, but rejected several premises underlying the U.N. accusations.
The working group will be undertaking its country visit to the Netherlands from June 30 to July 4, when they will ask about measures taken by the government for the elimination of racial discrimination against people of African descent.
The five U.N. investigators are: Ms. Mireille Fanon-Mendes France (Chairperson, France); Ms. Monorama Biswas (Bangladesh); Ms. Mirjana Najcevska (Macedonia); Ms. Maya Sahli (Algeria); and Ms. Verene Shepherd (Jamaica).
While some people of African descent in the Netherlands have complained about the stereotyping in Zwaarte Piet, others, such as in the former Dutch colony of Suriname, appear to accept it.

The U.N. investigators in their letter accuse The Netherlands of violating the anti-racism provisions of:
– Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
– Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
– Article 2 and 26 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
They also accuse the Dutch of breaching:
– Article 15 of ICESCR (right to take part in cultural life)
– The 1992 Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities