Dutch lawmakers voted Tuesday to expand Article 1 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to explicitly include bans on discrimination based on sexual orientation and disability.
The proposition is the result of a years-long initiative by the coalition party D66 and left-wing opposition parties PvdA and GroenLinks. Following the Dutch Senate’s Tuesday vote, which passed the proposal in a 56–15 vote, it now only needs to be signed by King Willem-Alexander and the responsible minister before being published in the Staatscourant, the official government publication that formally announces new laws.
Article 1 of the Dutch Constitution already states that citizens of the Netherlands shall be treated equally in equal circumstances, and includes protections based on religion, belief, political opinion, race, or sex. It also states that discrimination on any other grounds whatsoever shall not be permitted. But Dutch LGBTQ+ advocacy organization COC Nederlands, which has advocated for enshrining LGBTQ+ right in the constitution since 2004, said that the explicit mention of sexual orientation is an important moment for the rights of people who identify with diverse genders and sexualities. It is a historic victory for the rainbow community.
According to Astrid Oosenbrug, COC Nederland chair, “LGBTI rights are finally proudly mentioned in Article 1 and are no longer hidden.”
Illya Soffer, CEO, and director of Ieder(in), a Dutch organization representing people with disabilities and chronic illness said that the amendment is badly needed because people who live with disabilities often experience discrimination and exclusion
Dutch Constitution Will Be Amended To Ban LGBTQ+ Discrimination
- Tarek Turjuman
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- Tags: Ban, Discrimination, LGBTQ+
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Dutch Constitution Will Be Amended To Ban LGBTQ+ Discrimination
Dutch lawmakers voted Tuesday to expand Article 1 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to explicitly include bans on discrimination based on sexual orientation and disability.
The proposition is the result of a years-long initiative by the coalition party D66 and left-wing opposition parties PvdA and GroenLinks. Following the Dutch Senate’s Tuesday vote, which passed the proposal in a 56–15 vote, it now only needs to be signed by King Willem-Alexander and the responsible minister before being published in the Staatscourant, the official government publication that formally announces new laws.
Article 1 of the Dutch Constitution already states that citizens of the Netherlands shall be treated equally in equal circumstances, and includes protections based on religion, belief, political opinion, race, or sex. It also states that discrimination on any other grounds whatsoever shall not be permitted. But Dutch LGBTQ+ advocacy organization COC Nederlands, which has advocated for enshrining LGBTQ+ right in the constitution since 2004, said that the explicit mention of sexual orientation is an important moment for the rights of people who identify with diverse genders and sexualities. It is a historic victory for the rainbow community.
According to Astrid Oosenbrug, COC Nederland chair, “LGBTI rights are finally proudly mentioned in Article 1 and are no longer hidden.”
Illya Soffer, CEO, and director of Ieder(in), a Dutch organization representing people with disabilities and chronic illness said that the amendment is badly needed because people who live with disabilities often experience discrimination and exclusion
