Netherlands (Kingdom of the)14

Reservations:

       "Article 26:

       The Kingdom of the Netherlands accepts the provisions of article 26 of the Convention with the reservation that these provisions shall not imply an independent entitlement of children to social security, including social insurance.

       "Article 37:

       The Kingdom of the Netherlands accepts the provisions of article 37 (c) of the Convention with the reservation that these provisions shall not prevent the application of adult penal law to children of sixteen years and older, provided that certain criteria laid down by law have been met.

       "Article 40:

       The Kingdom of the Netherlands accepts the provisions of article 40 of the Convention with the reservation that cases involving minor offences may be tried without the presence of legal assistance and that with respect to such offences the position remains that no provision is made in all cases for a review of the facts or of any measures imposed as a consequence."

Declarations:

       "Article 14:

       It is the understanding of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that article 14 of the Convention is in accordance with the provisions of article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 19 December 1966 and that this article shall include the freedom of a child to have or adopt a religion or belief of his or her choice as soon as the child is capable of making such choice in view of his or her age or maturity.

       "Article 22:

       With regard to article 22 of the Convention, the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands declares:

       a) that it understands the term "refugee" in paragraph 1 of this article as having the same meaning as in article 1 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 28 July 1951; and

       b) that it is of the opinion that the obligation imposed under the terms of this article does not prevent

       - the submission of a request for admission from being made subject to certain conditions, failure to meet such conditions resulting in inadmissibility;

       - the referral of a request for admission to a third State, in the event that such a State is considered to be primarily responsible for dealing with the request for asylum.

       "Article 38

       With regard to article 38 of the Convention, the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands declares that it is of the opinion that States would not be allowed to involve children directly or indirectly in hostilities and that the minimum age for the recruitment or incorporation of children in the armed forces should be above fifteen years.

       In times of armed conflict, provisions shall prevail that are most conducive to guaranteeing the protection of children under international law, as referred to in article 41 of the Convention."

Netherlands (Kingdom of the)

With regard to the reservations made by Djibouti, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Pakistan and the Syrian Arab Republic upon ratification:

       "The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands considers that such reservations, which seek to limit the responsibilities of the reserving State under the Convention by invoking general principles of national law, may raise doubts as to the commitment of these States to the object and purpose of the Convention and moreover, contribute to undermining the basis of international treaty law. It is in the common interest of States that treaties to which they have chosen to become parties should be respected, as to object and purpose, by all parties. the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands therefore objects to these reservations.

       This objection does not constitute an obstacle to the entry into force of the Convention between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the aformentioned States."

Subsequently, the Secretary-General received, from the Government of the Netherlands, objections of the same nature as the one above with regard to reservations made by the following States on the dates indicated hereinafter:

       - 11 June 1996: with regard to the reservation made by Qatar upon ratification;

       - 14 June 1996: with regard to the reservation made by Botswana upon accession and Turkey upon ratification;

       - 25 June 1996: with regard to the reservation made by Malaysia upon accession;

       - 6 November 1996: with regard to the reservations made by Singapore upon accession;

       - 3 March 1997: with regard to the reservations made by Liechtenstein upon ratification and Brunei Darussalam, Kiribati and Saudi Arabia upon accession;

       - 6 March 1997: with regard to the declaration made by Andorra upon ratification;

       - 10 February 1998: with regard to the reservations made by Oman upon accession.

       - 6 April 1998: with regard to the reservation made to article 14 by the United Arab Emirates upon accession.  Moreover, the Government of the Netherlands made the following declaration with regard to the reservation made by the Government of the United Arab Emirates with respect to article 7 : “The Go vernment of the Kingdom of the Netherlans assumes that the United Arab Emirates shall ensure the implementation of the rights mentioned in article 7, first paragraph, of [the Convention] not only in accordance with its national law but also with its obligations under the relevant international instrument in this field.”

8 March 2016

With regard to the reservations made by the Federal Republic of Somalia upon ratification:

       “The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has carefully examined the reservations made by the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia with respect to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

       The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands considers that the reservations regarding articles 14, 20 and 21 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child are incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention.

       Furthermore, the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands notes that the Federal Republic of Somalia subjects application of the Convention to the beliefs and principles of Islam.

       The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands considers that such reservations, which seek to limit the responsibilities of the reserving State under the Convention by general reference to religious laws, raises doubts as to the commitment of that State to the object and purpose of the Convention.

       The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands recalls that according to Article 51, paragraph 2 of the Convention, a reservation incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention shall not be permitted. The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands therefore objects to these reservations.

       This objection shall not preclude the entry into force of the Convention between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Somalia.”