A/HRC/43/48/Add.1 III. The Netherlands: country context 10. The Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of four autonomous constituent countries: the Netherlands, located in Western Europe, and three islands – Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten – located in the Caribbean. The islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba are a part of the Kingdom and are also located in the Caribbean. The present report focuses exclusively on the country of the Netherlands. The Netherlands is a mature liberal democracy premised upon a bicameral system of parliament and is resolute in its commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, which was first recognized and respected in the Union of Utrecht of 1579 and again in the subsequent Constitution of 1983. 11. The population of the Netherlands is around 17.2 million persons, giving it the second highest population density in the European Union. The country hosts a plurality of religions: Roman Catholicism (23 per cent), Protestantism, including the Dutch Reformed Churches (15 per cent), Islam (5 per cent) and others, including Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism and Baha’i (6 per cent). Around 51 per cent of the population identifies as having no religion, making the Netherlands one of the most secular societies in the Group of Western European and other States. 4 Two thirds of the estimated 1 million Muslims in the country are of Turkish or Moroccan origin and many of the 350,000 Hindus originate from Suriname. 5 Jewish and Sikh communities estimate their numbers at 29,900 6 and 15,000 (about 0.17 per cent and 0.08 per cent of the population) respectively. A significant number of immigrants, who constitute almost one quarter (23.1 per cent) of the Dutch population, have joined Dutch society since the 1950s and immigration is almost entirely responsible for the growth of the population by 99,577 persons between January 2017 and 2018. 12. The Government of the Netherlands administrates its responsibilities within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy and a decentralized unitary State. King Willem-Alexander is the official head of State of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which has enjoyed an independent monarchy since 1815. The judicial, legislative and executive branches are independent. Dutch citizens directly elect the 150 members of the lower house of the parliament (Tweede Kamer); the 75 members of the upper house, or Senate (Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal) are elected by members of the provincial councils. There are 12 Dutch provinces with their own representative and executive government bodies. There are currently 355 municipalities (gemeenten) responsible for matters including public services and discrimination issues that directly affect their residents. 13. The judicial system is comprised of 11 district courts, along with four courts of appeal, one Supreme Court, one Administrative Court for Trade and Industry, one Council of State and one Central Appeals Court for Public Service and Social Security Matters. 7 Judicial recruitment, selection, training and recommendation for appointment of members of the judiciary are undertaken jointly by the judiciary and the Council for the Judiciary (Raad voor de Rechtspraak). Appointments are made by Royal Decree following confirmation by the Minister of Security and Justice that the nominees meet the statutory requirements and other formal requirements. In the case of appointments to the Supreme Court, the list of nominees is forwarded to the Minister after examination by the lower house of the parliament. The Council for the Judiciary oversees the operations of Dutch courts, acts as judiciary spokesperson and provides important communication channels between the Government and the courts. 8 4 5 6 7 8 4 Statistics Netherlands (CBS), “Over half of the Dutch population are not religious”, 23 October 2018. Willem Huijnk, De religieuze beleving van moslims in Nederland (Den Haaag, Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau, 2018). See www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/about/communities/nl. See www.netherlandsandyou.nl/latest-news/news/2017/09/21/factsheet-on-the-judiciary-in-thenetherlands. See https://www.upr-info.org/database/index.php?limit=0&f_SUR=All&f_SMR=123&order=& orderDir=ASC&orderP=true&f_Issue=All&searchReco=&resultMax=300&response=&action_type= &session=&SuRRgrp=&SuROrg=&SMRRgrp=&SMROrg=&pledges=RecoOnly.