THE HAGUE - For the answer to the question whether the Dutch role in slavery and the slave trade was a crime against humanity, Minister Kajsa Ollongren of the Interior and Kingdom Relations asked the advice of the Dialogue Group on Slavery Past led by Frits Goedgedrag.

The minister reports this in a letter she sent to the First Chamber (Senate) of the Dutch Parliament in which she responds to a motion to that effect. It was submitted in March by Member of the Senate Peter Nicolaï but has not yet been put to the vote after being advised against. “In view of the task of the advisory board (the Slavery Past Dialogue Group), It seemed appropriate to me to forward the request formulated in the motion to this advisory board and ask them to involve this request in the dialogue, and to give the advisory board space to approach experts for this,” says Ollongren.

In the Nicolaï motion, the government is asked to investigate whether there is any reason - as in France - to classify slavery and the slave trade by law as a crime against humanity, and to verify whether the creation of the same law and maintenance of a National Slavery Past Monument, a Slavery Past Knowledge Center and a Slavery Museum must be guaranteed.

The Slavery Past Dialogue Group will organize a series of "discussion sessions" about the slavery past and its impact on contemporary society. "The purpose of the talks is to connect and to a broader recognition of this shared past," said Ollongren. The results are expected in the course of next year.