Letter from Rebecca Project for Human Rights Regarding Demmink Appointment to Netherlands Helsinki Committee
Mr. I.M.de Jong and Mr. H. Hummel
Chairman and Director of the
Dutch Helsinki Committee
Laan van Meerdervoort 70
2517 AN The Hague
Via email: office@nhc.nl
Re: Netherlands Helsinki Committee
Appointment of Joris Demmink
Dear Sirs:
As the Rebecca Project for Human Rights, we are deeply concerned about your appointment of Mr. Demmink to the Netherlands Helsinki Committee (NHC). As an organization that shares the ideals of the protection of human dignity and the commitment to social justice, we are appalled at your appointment of Joris Demmink.
It is an incredible coincidence that on October 4, 2012 the US Helsinki Commission holds a hearing that charges Mr. Demmink with the sexual abuse of minors over twenty years without any subsequent formal judicial action on behalf of the Netherlands. The attorney representing the victims, a former chief of police in Holland and a victim testified to the failure of the government and human rights organizations to launch any serious investigation of the sex trafficking charges. Moreover, only days later on October 24, 2012 the Netherlands Helsinki Committee, a non-governmental organization, provides safe harbor to Mr. Demmink in the form of an appointment as a Committee Member.
It appears that the NHC charged with promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law is the perfect organization for Mr. Demmink to perch. It is from this post that Mr. Demmink can ensure that the European Council of Human Rights and the European Union continue to fail in its responsibilities to “promote higher standards of Human Rights protections.”
The Rebecca Project for Human Rights asks that Mr. Demmink’s criminal behavior in the sex abuse of minor boys be fully investigated by a court of law and that he not be allowed to sit as a Committee Member of the NHC until the judicial action is complete. Absent such investigation, the only conclusion that can be made is that NHC works as a tool of the Parliament in the Netherlands not to implement the rule of law but to pervert it.
Sincerely,
Imani Walker, Executive Director.
Kwame Fosu, Policy Director.
Grace Akallo, Executive Director, United Africans for Women and Children Rights
You can download PDF version of this letter here.