Expatica news

Dutch councils defend ethnic register

13 November 2008

THE NETHERLANDS – Towns and cities with large Antillean immigrant communities want to continue registering delinquents on the basis of their ethnicity.

Speaking on behalf of the 22 so-called "Antilles municipalities" in the Netherlands, Mayor of Rotterdam Ivo Opstelten defended the registration scheme, known as the Antillean Reference Index.

In a recent visit to the Netherlands Antilles, Integration Minister Ella Vogelaar said the government will scrap the controversial plan to list Antillean problem youths, The index was proposed earlier this year to allow aid workers from various government agencies to coordinate their work better.

The system is to be replaced by a registration scheme for all delinquents irrespective of their ethnic background. Opstelten says it should remain possible to keep a record of ethnicity under the new scheme.

[Radio Netherlands / Expatica]