On the road for human rights
| Author | Lionel Veer |
| Published date | 01 March 2017 |
| Date | 01 March 2017 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0924051917693971 |
| Subject Matter | Column |
Column
On the road for human rights:
Experiences and reflections
of the Dutch human rights
ambassador 2010-2014
Lionel Veer
Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands to UNESCO, Paris, France
‘Are you a human rights defender?’ I was asked by a Chinese official at a meeting in 2012 at
the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry after I tried to explain why supporting human right
defenders is one of our priorities. The question puzzled me, first I thought maybe he mis-
understood my explanation, maybe he was trying to question the meaning of our policy in an
indirect manner or maybe it was just a question. I decided to answer in an affirmative way
underlining that the task of the Dutch Human Rights Ambassador is to support the Govern-
ment’spolicytopromoteanddefendhumanrightsathomeandaroundtheworld.Todefend
humanrights,youneedtoshowsincerityandrespect for the ideas of others, their culture and
society, but at the same time clearly express your own ideas on how human rights can be
improved. I told him that, for me, a human rights ambassador is in a way the diplomatic
version of the human rights defender.
I used this opportunity to ask my interlocutor if he had any ideas, critical or positive, on the
human rights situation in the Netherlands. He then in turn seemed a little puzzled. No, he said, for
the Chinese Government it is important not to interfere in the way other countries rule themself and
to respect the sovereignty of other governments in the way they deal with policy matters, like
human rights. We had a good conversation, and I was able to raise most of our concerns regarding
the human rights situation in China. At the same time, he raised China’s concerns about the way the
Netherlands - and Western countries in general - focused on criticising China’s human rights
policies and even awarding human rights awards to people that have been convicted by Chinese
courts. I believe this meeting was an important step towards resuming the official human rights
consultations between China and the Netherlands, which was held in 2013 after a four
year interruption.
Corresponding author:
Lionel Veer, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands to UNESCO, 7 rue Eble, Paris, 75007, France. Article written in a
private capacity.
Email: ls.veer@minbuza.nl
Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights
2017, Vol. 35(1) 4–10
ªThe Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/0924051917693971
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