On the International Day against Racism and Discrimination, Amnesty International Netherlands published their new research on the lack of protection by the Dutch government against racial profiling. Amnesty calls for immediate action to address the pervasive issue of ethnic profiling in law enforcement practices.
In February 2023, the Dutch Court of Appeal ruled that the current risk profiling practices of the Royal Marechaussee are racist and against the law. The court ordered an immediate cessation of these racist risk profile practices. More than a year later, Amnesty’s report now shows that the Marechaussee, and other governmental ‘protection’ organisations have not held up to the court’s ruling.
In the context of technology, they found that risk profiling algorithms used by the government to assess the risk of certain behaviours, disproportionately target Black people, poor people, and religious minorities. Amnesty Netherlands urges the government to take concrete steps to address this issue, including implementing regulations to ensure transparency and accountability in algorithmic decision-making processes. Additionally, they call for the development of alternative approaches that prioritise anti-racist and equitable practices.
See: Nieuw onderzoek Amnesty International laat zien dat aanpak overheid etnisch profileren tekortschiet at Amnesty, or check the full report (PDF).