A/HRC/43/48/Add.1 23. The National Action Plan on Human Rights of 2014 16 outlines the country’s national human rights and non-discrimination policy and infrastructure. The Action Plan has been criticized owing to the limited consultations with civil society during its development, as well as for its insufficient concrete actions and its poor implementation. Various stakeholders have been engaged in developing the new Action Plan, focusing on accessibility of public services, which was released on 12 December 2019. Other relevant policy documents include the Council of Europe guidelines on human rights in culturally diverse societies,17 issued in 2016, which were developed with input from the Netherlands. They provide guidance on implementing protections for freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief while ensuring that no hierarchy between rights is established. A 2004 policy document on fundamental rights in a pluralistic society 18 is also used as a framework to balance fundamental rights, including in cases of discriminatory statements based on religion or belief. 24. Provisions for the enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief are framed within the context of non-discrimination and are promoted by the National Anti-Discrimination Action Programme, adopted in 2016. The Programme seeks to enhance law enforcement, encourage reporting, investigation and prosecution of incidents, and advance antidiscrimination education. It also aims to reduce harmful practices among government officials, including by increasing police diversity and promoting training for police officers on avoiding ethnic or racial profiling, which is reportedly commonplace. The revised Programme was published in January 2016, bringing together existing programmes, including those focused on combating anti-Muslim discrimination and antisemitism and those that seek to strengthen strategies for improving societal cohesion. The parliament receives annual progress updates that include statistics from the anti-discrimination bureaux, the police and Meldpunt Internet Discriminatie (MiND), an entity responsible for assessing reports of online discrimination. A cooperation agreement was also established in 2017 to streamline the terms and definitions used when registering incidents and to develop appropriate responses between the Public Prosecution Office, the police and the antidiscrimination bureaux. 25. The Act of 2009 on local anti-discrimination bureaux legally obliged all local authorities to establish bureaux where incidents of discrimination could be reported. The Government’s annual updates to the parliament on specific measures for enhancing and implementing the National Anti-Discrimination Action Programme is helpful, especially where critical reviews of services and programmes are provided. Thirty-eight antidiscrimination bureaux operate at the local and regional levels to register discrimination incidents, bring them to the attention of municipal authorities and offer assistance to victims. The network of bureaux, which extends across all Dutch municipalities, makes it possible for individuals in the Netherlands to report discrimination and receive professional support. Coverage gaps do remain in some municipalities. Although resources and independence from local authorities differ, anti-discrimination bureaux provide a crucial locally accessible service, especially where communication with the police and the Public Prosecution Office is undergoing enhancement. Anti-discrimination bureaux, which are mandated to mediate in discrimination incidents, also appear to produce more favourable outcomes for some victims than filing a police complaint. Despite a 2017 agreement on ensuring greater cooperation between anti-discrimination bureaux and the police in responding to incidents, more cooperation between the police and anti-discrimination bureaux is necessary to ensure that victims understand the available range of responses to incidents. Anti-discrimination bureaux and police outreach (e.g. through periodic focus groups) to hard-to-reach religious or belief communities needs improvement to ensure all 16 17 18 See http://www.government.nl/documents/policy-notes/2014/03/19/national-action-plan-on-humanrights. The national non-discrimination policy and infrastructure are outlined and promoted in the separate National Anti-Discrimination Action Programme. See https://rm.coe.int/guidelines-hr-in-culturally-diverse-societies/168073dced. Netherlands, Constitutional Affairs and Legislation Department, Report of the International Conference on Fundamental Rights in a Pluralistic Society (The Hague: Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, 2004). 7