The Netherlands and the Council of Europe – bringing human rights from the conference table to your kitchen table

The Council of Europe works for you. We want to give visibility to the role, standards and work of the Council of Europe in its member states, to show how Council of Europe membership has helped achieve particular results or changes. Our aim, through a variety of events and actions, is to highlight ways in which the Council of Europe’s action has helped improve the life of individuals and contributed to improving people’s enjoyment of fundamental rights.

Tanja Gonggrijp, Ambassadeur, Permanent Vertegenwoordiger van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden bij de Raad van Europa

Whether it is the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights at national level, or the Council of Europe's work in many fields, such as working to abolish the death penalty or to ensure freedom of expression and freedom of the media, or to adress online and technology-facilitated violence against women through the Istanbul Convention and Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, the Council of Europe has achieved a lot since 1949. View achievements »

Events

Coming up

• The Netherlands is scheduled to hold the Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe from May to November 2027. The six-month Presidency will consist of a policy and a cultural programme in Strasbourg and the Netherlands.

16 December 2025

• Thirty-four countries and the European Union signed a new convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine at a diplomatic conference co-hosted by the Council of Europe and the Netherlands in The Hague. The conference was attended by leaders and high-level representatives from over 50 states, including the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Dick Schoof. During the conference, the Netherlands announced that it will host the newly established Claims Commission. The convention is a new step in the development of a crucial international compensation mechanism enabling victims of Russian aggression in Ukraine to receive compensation for damage they have suffered. The process consists of three parts: a Register of Damage, a Claims Commission and a Compensation Fund. The Register of Damage for Ukraine, which is also based in The Hague, has been accepting claims from Ukrainian citizens, business and institutions since 2024.

3 November 2025

• Lecture organized by the Ministry of Justice and Security in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in celebration of the 75-year existence of the European Convention on Human Rights. The lecture was attended by members of government and the judicial. Reinier von Zutphen (National Ombudsman of the Netherlands), Rick Lawson (Chairperson of the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights), Solange Christiaan (Judge at the Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curacao, and Sint Maarten), and Jasper Krommendijk (Professor of Human Rights) participated in a panel discussion, in which the importance of human rights in Europe and in the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom was discussed.

3 April 2024

• Presentation at the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security, 'The course of the Council of Europe in the past, present, and future, and the role the Council of Europe plays with strengthening human rights, the rule of law and democracy': Ambassador Tanja Gonggrijp focused on the Council of Europe’s work regarding justice, common norms and policy, and threats to the rule of law. While also discussing the Venice Commission and the Council of Europe system to monitor the execution of ECtHR judgments, the ambassador emphasised the important role of the Council of Europe in the European sphere and beyond.
• Presentation at Utrecht University, 'The course of the Council of Europe in the past, present, and future, and the role the Council of Europe plays with strengthening human rights, the rule of law and democracy': Ambassador Tanja Gonggrijp provided the Masters law students with an insight into the work of the Council of Europe over the past 75 years, and the work that is yet to come. Together with Prof. Mr. Janneke Gerards (member of the Venice Commission) and Prof. Mr. Miriam Kullman (member of the European Committee on Social Rights), the ambassador provided more insight into different Council of Europe bodies and her work at the Permanent Representation.

2 March 2023

• Possible side event to coincide with the 2-3 March PACE Standing Committee visit to the Peace Palace in the Hague: “75 years Congress of The Hague; Multilateralism in Europe at a crossroads”

April 2023

• Publication of the report ‘A new era for the Council of Europe’ by the youth think tank ‘The West Wing’ in the run-up to the 4^th Council of Europe Summit. ‘The West Wing’ provides the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with advice from a youth perspective on various aspects of Dutch foreign policy. Each year, four groups of twelve students and young professionals draft a policy recommendation at the request of a directorate or embassy. For the report on the Council of Europe, members of the youth think tank conducted 22 interviews, attended a PACE Standing Committee meeting and Round Table, and surveyed Dutch youth.