E UNITED NATIONS Economic and Social Council Distr. GENERAL E/C.12/1/Add.25 16 June 1998 Original: ENGLISH COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLES 16 AND 17 OF THE COVENANT Concluding observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights NETHERLANDS I. EUROPEAN PART OF THE KINGDOM 1. The Committee considered the second periodic report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: the European part of the Kingdom concerning the rights covered by articles 1 to 15 of the Covenant (E/1990/6/Add.11) at its 13th to 17th meetings, held on 5, 6 and 7 May 1998, and adopted* the following concluding observations. A. Introduction 2. The Committee thanks the Government of the Netherlands for the presentation of its report, which was in keeping with the Committee's guidelines, although it was nearly nine years late. The Committee also welcomed the written submission of full replies to its list of questions and expressed satisfaction at the open and constructive dialogue with the State party, which was represented by a delegation of experts. The Committee appreciates the high quality of the information contained in the core document (HRI/CORE/1/Add.66). _________ * At the 28th meeting (eighteenth session), held on 15 May 1998. GE.98-16474 (E)